Starry Eyed Surprise
by ButterflyOfLothlorien
Summary: Another year at Hogwarts, another new professor and another set of problems for Professor Snape. Will this new professor be a help or hindrance to the Potions Master and the war against He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named? Eventual SnapeOFC - PRE HBP/DHALLOWS
1. Anxious Arrival

**Disclaimer:** Quite obviously i don't own anything you recognise from Harry Potter, it all belongs to J.K Rowling. Anything you don't recognise (such as Anna) is mine. Also the title of this story comes from a song by Paul Oakenfold, something i did not realise until just recently, so i don't own that either.

**A/N:** This is my first proper fanfic. It started out as just a way to practice and improve my writing skills, but along the way it has developed into much more.  
_Unfortunately, due to a string of real life events out of my control, this story has been on hold indefinitely and will remain that way until further notice. A thousand apologies to my readers, reviewers and my beta TowerMage._  
**On a side note**, Chapter 20 has been rewritten slightly and Chapter 21 is in development. However, there will be no new uploads until there is more than one new chapter ready to go.

**Chapter 1: Anxious Arrival**

A frown formed on the pale lips of Annalyse Chambers as she looked out at the rain pelting the train's window. It was a terribly gloomy day, not something she thought of as a good start to her new job.

Anna shook her head slightly and returned her attention to the open book resting in her lap, but she could not concentrate.

After reading the same paragraph at least four times she closed the book with a snap and replaced it in her battered briefcase. The Hogwarts Express would be stopping soon anyway and Anna would return to Hogwarts for the first time since her graduation.

_I wonder if it's changed at all_, she thought as the train began to slow down. Standing up and stretching, Anna adjusted her blue robes. Rummaging in a pocket she drew out a small mirror in order to check her appearance.

Her mouse brown hair was tied back in a plait, though a few stubborn strands had freed themselves to fall around her face. A light dusting of freckles covered her small nose and her blue eyes appeared somewhat troubled, as if there was something about this new job that scared her.

The train came to a stop slowly as Anna put the mirror away and picked up her

battered briefcase.

"Firs' years! Firs' years this way!" came the loud voice of Hogwarts Gamekeeper, Rubeus Hagrid, as he ushered the first years towards a group of boats waiting at the edge of the lake. The older students and Anna made their way to the horseless carriages waiting nearby.

Anna ignored the curious looks the students gave her as she went to climb into an empty carriage, pausing to give the Thestral that pulled it a quick pat.

The rain continued to fall, battering the carriages as they were drawn up the muddy road towards the castle. Anna fixed her attention upon the warm lights glowing within the castle, trying to ignore the curious glances and whispering of the three Hufflepuff second years that shared her carriage.

_They probably think I'm the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher_, Anna thought as the swaying carriage jostled her and the students around.

Anna was indeed to be a teacher at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, but not as the teacher of that particular subject. Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts, had written to her a few weeks ago asking her to take up the position of Astronomy professor for the year as Professor Sinistra had taken a much-needed vacation. Anna had agreed immediately, she was desperate for work and could find little as a substitute teacher. It was her hope that, if she did well, Dumbledore might find her a full time teaching position.

_Well, here we go._

Anna and the students climbed out of the carriages and ran up the castle steps quickly, eager to be out of the rain.

As Anna stood in the Entrance Hall using her wand to dry herself as the rain continued to fall, she pitied the first years that were making their journey to Hogwarts by the lake and were probably drenched from head to toe.

The other students were chatting away happily as they began to slowly make their way into the Great Hall. Anna stood awkwardly in the Entrance Hall, unsure of whether to follow the students or not.

"Ah! Annalyse Chambers!"

Anna turned to see Professor Minerva McGonagall, deputy Headmistress and Transfiguration teacher, walking towards her. Anna smiled somewhat nervously as she greeted her old teacher.

"Hello Professor McGonagall."

McGonagall waved a hand dismissively.

"Call me Minerva," the old woman smiled at Anna, "Welcome back to Hogwarts Annalyse. Just follow the students into the Great Hall, everyone is getting ready for the Sorting Ceremony."

"Of course."

McGonagall nodded and looked over at the main doors where Hagrid's voice could be heard outside.

"Hurry along now, there is a place for you at the staff table." She said before heading over to the doors.

Anna moved to pick up her briefcase, but it was gone. A house-elf had already taken it to her rooms. With a slight smile upon her face, Anna made her way into the Great Hall and towards the staff table.

Professor Albus Dumbledore rose to greet her as Anna approached the large table.

"Annalyse, my dear, welcome! It is good to see you again." His bright blue eyes twinkled behind his half moon glasses.

"Likewise, Headmaster." Anna replied.

"Please, take a seat. I believe the Sorting will take place in a moment." Dumbledore indicated to an empty seat at the table.

As soon as Anna sat down, McGonagall entered the Great Hall with the first years following her nervously. The Sorting began quickly, but Anna paid little attention to the ceremony. Instead she was busy looking around the staff table at all the teachers.

Seated next to her was a short, grey haired witch who introduced herself as Professor Sprout. Anna chatted quietly to the witch for a few moments before turning her attention to the man seated on her other side.

He had shoulder length black hair, a hooked nose and a scowl on his face as he watched the students being sorted. The scowl looked as if it was a permanent feature.

"Hello, I'm Annalyse Chambers." She smiled at him as she introduced herself.

He turned his head ever so slightly to look at her with dark eyes.

"Severus Snape." He said in a cold, smooth voice. Anna's smile wavered slightly at the coldness of his reply.

"It is a pleasure to meet you Professor Snape, what subject is it that you teach?" Anna asked.

"I am the Potions Master." He replied in that same cold voice before focusing his attention back to the Sorting, which was almost over. Anna was going to say more, but he made it clear that the conversation was over by ignoring her attempts completely.

She watched the Potions Master for a moment longer, but was soon distracted as Dumbledore rose at the end of the Sorting.

"Welcome!" he smiled warmly around at everyone, "Let's eat!"

Food flooded the tables and everyone began eating in a flurry of movement.

Anna spent the majority of the feast talking with Professor Sprout, who turned out to be the Herbology teacher, a subject Anna had enjoyed while at school.

As the feast came to an end and everyone was pushing their plates away and thinking longingly about the soft beds awaiting them, Dumbledore rose from his seat once more causing everyone to cease their conversations and listen attentively.

"Welcome to another year at Hogwarts! Now, I'm sure you are all eager to get to bed after that delicious feast, but I must ask you to listen for a little longer." His blue eyes twinkled merrily as he looked at all the students, the majority of first years smothering yawns.

"We have a couple of new teachers joining us this year, firstly please welcome Professor Marlan who will be taking Defence Against the Dark Arts this year." There was scattered applause as a young man in elegant green robes stood up. He had light brown hair and a slight smile upon his face as he looked at the students before sitting down again.

"Professor Sinistra has decided to take a much needed vacation this year, so please welcome Professor Chambers who will be taking Astronomy for the year." Dumbledore indicated Anna, who stood and nodded nervously at the students as she received the same scattered applause before taking her seat again.

"Now, if the prefects would be kind enough to lead everyone to their dormitories," Dumbledore paused a moment, his eyes sweeping over a few students who were plainly asleep, "I'm sure we could all use a good night's rest. Off you go now." He smiled at them all again as the noise grew as the students began to file out of the Great Hall.

Anna rose with the other teachers, smiling and bidding them goodnight as they left via a door behind the staff table.

"Annalyse."

She turned from saying goodnight to Professor McGonagall and Professor Marlan, who bowed to her, to look up into the face of Dumbledore.

"Yes, Headmaster?"

"Tomorrow morning, stop by the staff room and I shall introduce you properly to everyone."

"Of course, Headmaster."

"Do call me Albus, my dear." Warmth shone in his bright eyes, "Oh, Severus?"

Anna looked over her shoulder to see the dark form of Professor Snape pause by the door.

"Yes, Headmaster Dumbledore?"

"Would you be so kind as to show Annalyse to her rooms?"

Snape gave a slight bow and nodded to the Headmaster, his dark eyes flicking over to Anna briefly.

"Good, good. I shall see you both in the morning." Dumbledore nodded to both of them before sweeping out of the Hall.

"Follow me." Snape said shortly, leaving the Hall without even checking to see if Anna was indeed following. She had to jog to catch up with the dark professor, his long strides carrying him swiftly down the corridor.

Once she had caught up with him she watched him carefully for a moment. Snape was staring straight ahead, once again ignoring her completely.

"Do you, er, enjoy Potions?" Anna asked, breaking the silence between them.

Without even looking at her, he replied in his cold, velvety voice.

"Yes."

Though he did appear aloof and uncaring, he had an oddly beautiful voice, a voice that commanded the attention of the person he was speaking to.

"Oh. Have you been teaching long?"

"Is there a reason that you are asking these questions, Professor Chambers?" he asked her sharply.

"Er…I was just making conversation." She smiled weakly up at him. He was at least head and shoulders taller than her.

"Well, desist." He said in icy tones.

Anna's smile became a frown as she found the stone floor rather interesting. Was he always like this? She wondered, biting her bottom lip. She was a nice person by nature and hated it when others were mean to her for no apparent reason. Perhaps she would have to stay out of the Potions Master's way while she was here…the other teachers seemed a lot more inviting. Though, being nice to him couldn't hurt, maybe if he got to know her he would be nicer. Yes. She made a silent promise to herself that everytime she saw Professor Snape she would smile or try to start up a conversation. If she managed to get a smile out of him before she left, she would definitely be happy.

"Here." Snape said.

Anna looked up, not even realizing that they had reached their destination.

"Oh, thank you."

Snape merely inclined his head before sweeping off down the corridor, black robes billowing out behind him.

_He looks like an overgrown bat, and I'm sure I'm not the only one who has noticed!_ Anna shook her head slightly and examined the door before her. There appeared to be no spells on it. She would have to set up wards in the morning; she was far too tired now.

Opening the door she studied her small rooms. She was quite pleased with the rooms, they were rather cozy. Her office was set out with a plain wooden desk, empty bookshelves and a couple of comfy looking chairs. Moving across the office, Anna opened the door that connected the office to her bedroom. Her battered briefcase sat upon the small bed, a wardrobe stood in the far corner next to the open door that led to the small bathroom.

Covering a yawn, Anna pushed her briefcase off the bed and collapsed upon it. Still fully clothed, her exhaustion crept up on her and she was soon sleeping peacefully.


	2. Morning Meetings

Disclaimer: Once again, i own nothing from Harry Potter. Everything you recognise belongs to J.K Rowling everything you don't recognise belongs to me. Also the story title is from a song by Paul Oakenfold. Also the Glumbumbles mentioned in this chapter belong to J.K. Rowling.

**Chapter 2: Morning Meetings**

An annoyed moan escaped Anna's lips as she shifted her arm to cover her eyes, blocking the sunlight that had unknowingly seeped into her room. With a yawn, she rolled over…and landed on the floor with a _thump_. Muttering darkly she stood up, rubbing her hip.

Stumbling, bleary-eyed into the bathroom, Anna quickly splashed some cool water upon her face.

"My, you look dreadful dearest." Wheezed the old mirror hanging above the basin.

"Thanks." She replied dryly, exiting the bathroom to open her briefcase. Rummaging through the case she drew out a rather faded black dress and another set of plain blue robes, the same colour as her eyes. Not sparkling sapphire, not deep ocean blue, just blue. Plain and simple, just like everything else about her.

Within moments she was changed, her hair brushed and re-plaited loosely and she was ready to go in search of the staff room.

Rubbing her eyes with one hand she left her rooms, stopping for a moment to lock the door, and headed down the corridor.

The hallways of the castle were empty, save for the occasional ghost passing through the walls now and then. Covering a yawn with one hand, Anna cast a glance out a window. The sun was up, but it had only just risen. It was still too early for the students to be up and about.

Anna's footsteps echoed down the hallway as she walked, wondering vaguely where the staff room actually was.

Stopping before a large painting depicting two battling knights, Anna decided to ask for directions.

"Excuse me," Anna asked, but she was not heard over the clang of metal as the two knights continued to attack each other. Clearing her throat she tried again.

"Excuse me!"

The two knights lowered their swords and looked at her.

"Er, sorry to interrupt but I need your help." She smiled nervously at the two knights. They both bowed and a muffled voice came from under the helmet of one knight.

"What may we do to assist thee, fair lady?"

"Yes, is there a beast to be slayed?" spoke the other.

"An evil knight to defeat?"

"No, no, I just need directions to the staff room. Do you know which way I have to go?" Anna asked the two.

"The room of staff my fair lady seeks be in yonder direction." Spoke the first knight as the other pointed his sword.

"Oh, thank you."

The two knights bowed again and, with an amused smile, Anna attempted a curtsy. Setting off down the hallway it wasn't long before Anna heard the clang of metal again.

Coming across a door that had to be the staff room (since there were no other doors nearby) Anna knocked. Upon hearing "Come in." she opened the door and entered.

"Ah, Annalyse! Good morning my dear!" Professor Sprout smiled at the younger professor. "Would you care for a cup of tea?"

"Yes, thank you." Anna replied, looking around. "This is the staff room, isn't it?"

Sprout chuckled and handed Anna a rather large cup.

"It is indeed," Sprout took a seat and patted the arm of the large armchair next to hers. Anna sat down, immediately sinking into the cushions of the chair. "The others should be joining us soon." Sprout said.

Anna took a sip of the tea, cradling the cup between her slender hands.

"What time is it?"

"Almost seven o'clock," said McGonagall as she strode through the door.

"Good morning Prof – Minerva." Anna said with a shy smile. It was somewhat strange to call her old teacher by her first name. McGonagall just smiled and conjured a cup of tea for herself with a wave of her wand.

Over the next half hour, more teachers arrived and took up seats in the staff room. Soon the room was almost full of witches and wizards, yawning and clutching strong cups of coffee or tea.

As Anna stood, talking to Professor Vector of the Arithmancy department, she cast a glance around the crowded room. Everyone was talking and laughing, discussing everything from lesson plans to the recent Quidditch match between Romania and Ireland. Almost everyone that is.

All the shadows in the room appeared to have gathered in one corner, clinging to the black robes of the man who sat there.

Professor Snape had arrived not long after McGonagall. Nodding curtly to the three women who occupied the room, he had taken a seat in the far corner, saying nothing as he read the _Daily Prophet_. He hadn't moved or spoken to anyone since his arrival, and no one had spoken to him.

Excusing herself from her conversation with Professor Vector, Anna made her way over to where Professor Snape sat. Standing before the dark Potions Master, she spoke.

"Good morning, Professor Snape."

Looking up from underneath his curtain of black hair, his dark eyes met her light ones.

"Indeed." His eyes returned to his paper. A small frown touched Anna's lips.

"Er, would you like a cup of tea?" she withdrew her wand, ready to conjure a cup. Snape merely pointed to the cup sitting on the small table next to him.

"Oh, you…already have one." She lowered her wand and shifted uncomfortably on her feet as silence fell in that little corner of the room.

Snape looked up at Anna again, irritation evident on his face. He seemed about to speak when the staff room door opened again and Dumbledore entered.

"Good morning, good morning!" the Headmaster, wearing deep purple robes decorated with gold stars, smiled around at everyone. "I know your all eagerly looking forward to your classes," there were a few laughs-turned-coughs heard. Dumbledore merely smiled again before continuing. "but I would like to formally introduce everyone to our new members of staff, Annalyse Chambers and Michael Marlan." Dumbledore indicated to Anna and Michael, the latter looking quite handsome in teal-coloured robes. Anna gave a small wave as everyone looked at her, while Michael merely nodded.

The next half hour or so was spent introducing the two to each and every teacher.

"Pleasure to meet you, Professor."

"Nice to meet you, Professor."

"Glad to be here, Professor."

Were the words Anna seemed to repeat over and over again, shaking hands and smiling as Dumbledore led the shy girl around the room. Michael had no trouble introducing himself, so Dumbledore had left him to his own devices.

"Ah yes, you already met Severus of course." The Headmaster smiled at Snape and Anna. Snape folded his _Daily Prophet_ and stood up, looking down at Anna. His gaze lingered on her for a moment before he inclined his head.

"Headmaster, Professor Chambers, if you will excuse me I believe I have a class to teach." With that he swept out of the room, the other teachers moving out of his way.

"Is he always so…distant?" Anna looked up at Dumbledore.

He smiled again, his blue eyes twinkling.

"Severus is just cautious." He paused and gazed at her from behind his half-moon spectacles, "Spending all his time alone in those dreary dungeons probably doesn't help his moods either. No matter how many times I invite him up to my office for tea and sherbet lemons, he always finds an excuse not to come." He shook his head slightly and gripped Anna's shoulder with one hand before moving to leave. The staff room was now empty save for Dumbledore and Anna, the teachers having left for their classes after being introduced.

"Have fun Annalyse, and remember, if your having any problems or you just want to chat, your welcome in my office any time for tea and sherbet lemons." With a wave, he left.

Anna stood for a few moments, thinking things over. With a shake of her head she went to attend her first class.


	3. Classroom Chaos

Disclaimer: Yet again, i own nothing. NOTHING! Everything you recognise belongs to J.K Rowling, anything you don't recognise belongs to me. Also, the title comes from a song by Paul Oakenfold, something i did not know until just recently so i don't own that either.

**Chapter 3: Classroom Chaos**

Anna's hands shook slightly as she straightened the inkwell that sat upon her desk for the third time.

She was nervous. Very nervous.

Closing her eyes she took a deep breath and tried to relax. Her first class was due to start any minute now, and although she had everything prepared Anna was still worried about what might happen.

What if the students didn't like her? What if they refused to do the work? What if they were mean to her?

She shook her head slightly, she could _what if_ herself to death which wouldn't help her one tiny bit.

Gripping the back of the ornate wooden chair behind her desk she pulled it out and sat down, looking around the classroom.

_Her_ classroom.

Desks and chairs were placed in rows throughout the room, a large blackboard stood to one side of her desk with the charmed chalk writing the word "WELCOME" in large letters, erasing it then writing it again. A bookcase similar to the one in her office lined one wall and was filled with books about Astronomy.

When Anna had entered the classroom (after spending fifteen minutes searching for it and having to ask Sir Nicholas where it was) she had found a letter upon the desk.

The letter was from Dumbledore and had explained the year's course as well as her lesson times. Theory classes were held on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays during the day while practical classes were on Tuesday and Thursday nights.

Anna had read the letter thoroughly and when she had reached the timetable she had almost cried.

Her first class of the year was a combined Gryffindor and Slytherin sixth-year class.

_Why do they keep putting those two houses together? It's just asking for trouble!_

She gazed at the timetable laid out on her desk again and shook her head slightly.

The classroom door creaked open and a group of students walked in. Anna gave them a rather uneasy smile and stood up as the rest of the class began to file in and take seats. She noticed that only about half of the Slytherins had arrived and wondering where the rest of them had got to, she walked past the rows of tables and chairs to the door and looked outside.

A few Gryffindors ran up to her as she looked around the hallways.

"Are we late?" asked one girl.

"No. You wouldn't happen to know where the other Slytherin sixth-years have gotten to would you?" Anna asked.

"Who cares?" muttered a boy as the girl shook her head.

With a sigh Anna moved to the side to let them enter the classroom.

Oh well, they'll turn up I suppose.

Walking back to her desk she picked up a piece of parchment with the names of the class written upon it.

Clearing her throat, the conversations ceased as the students waited to find out what this new professor would be like.

"Good morning everyone," Anna looked out at the students; the Gryffindors were watching her with polite interest while the Slytherins (those that were there) gave her a bored look.

"Well as you probably know, I am Professor Chambers and will be taking the Astronomy class this year. Before we get started, let's take a roll call shall we?" Anna looked down at the parchment she held.

"Lavender Brown?"

"Here!"

Anna looked at the girl she had spoken to earlier.

"Dean Thomas?"

"Yup!" said the boy who had commented about the absence of the Slytherins.

And so it went on as she moved down the list, using her quill to tick the names of those that were present.

"Hermione Granger?"

"Present!"

Anna nodded slightly to the bushy haired girl.

"Pansy Parkinson?"

"…Here…" came the bored reply from a Slytherin girl.

"Zabini Blaise?"

"Uh huh."

"Harry Potter?"

"Here."

Anna looked up at the Boy-Who-Lived and smiled before moving on.

"Draco Malfoy?"

There was no answer.

"Draco Malfoy?" Anna asked again, looking out over the room.

Still no answer so she placed a small cross next to his name and kept going through her list.

By the time she finished Draco Malfoy, Vincent Crabbe, Gregory Goyle and a few other Slytherins were still missing. Thinking that maybe they were sick or something, Anna replaced the list on her desk and clapped her hands together as she looked out over the class.

"Well, let's get started. First we will – "

She was cut off as the classroom door opened and a small group of Slytherins entered, talking loudly and led by a boy with a pointed face and blonde hair that was almost white.

The group of boys, still chatting away, took their seats without so much as casting a glance at her.

Annoyance flickered across Anna's face as she addressed the latecomers.

"Thank you for joining us."

The Slytherin boys stopped talking and looked to her. Something akin to amusement flickered in the pale eyes of the blonde haired boy as he gazed at Anna.

"Are you aware that you are late?" Anna asked them, trying to keep all hints of nervousness from her voice. She was the teacher and therefore the one in charge and anyway, perhaps they had lost track of time and didn't mean to be late to class. Though as she looked at them, she thought that there was a pretty slim chance of that actually being the case.

"Late? Oh, we didn't realize we were late." Drawled the blonde haired boy as he leaned back slightly in his chair. The two boys who sat either side of him, and looked like miniature trolls, laughed.

The Gryffindors were glaring at the Slytherins, all of whom were now smirking. Anna thought for a moment and decided to let the matter go.

"I hope you are on time in the future," she said "Now, what are your names?"

The blonde haired boy watched her for a moment before he answered.

"Malfoy, Draco Malfoy."

He said it as if he were announcing that he was the Headmaster of the school.

"And this is Crabbe and Goyle." He indicated the two trollish boys sitting on either side of him like bodyguards.

"Well it is nice to meet you and I believe that we should get started with the lesson now." With that she turned, picked up an open Astronomy textbook lying on her desk and headed over towards the blackboard.

"I have been informed that this class covered the basics of this textbook last year, so we will be starting with a more advanced theory today. Could everyone get out their textbooks and turn to page two hundred and ninety four please."

There was a rush of sound as all the students began to rummage through their bags for the required books. All except Hermione Granger who had gotten her books out before she had even sat down.

The lesson was finally underway much to Anna's relief. The problem of the late Slytherins had done nothing to ease her nerves. Questions such as should she have taken points from them for being late weaved their way through her mind as she began writing up the course outline upon the blackboard.

The sound of sniggering made her pause and look over her shoulder at Draco Malfoy. The pale boy sneered at her and returned to copying down the course outline.

Thinking no more of it, Anna returned to the blackboard.

They were halfway through the lesson when things seemed to start going downhill. For the past ten minutes various Slytherins had been whispering amongst themselves, laughing and casting amused glances at Anna.

She wouldn't have minded if they hadn't been looking at her whenever they whispered or laughed. She had the distinct feeling that they were up to something.

"Professor, could you help me with this?" called one of the Gryffindor girls. Anna smiled and went over to help her.

That was when disaster struck.

Shrieks sounded in the room as Draco stood up, a small, now empty box he had taken from his pocket was now in his hand. The contents of the box, however, were the cause of the shrieks.

Two grey, furry-bodied insects that were quite a bit bigger than insects should be were now buzzing furiously around the room, a sticky substance similar to treacle dripping from their stingers.

Most wizards and witches would have laughed at this and merely used a spell to be rid of the insects.

Not Anna though.

She was deathly afraid of bugs.

And so, doing what any sane person would, she shrieked along with some of the Gryffindor girls and dived behind her desk.

The insects, technically known as Glumbumbles, continued to buzz around the room angrily. The treacle dripped all over the desks, the floor and the students.

Malfoy and a large majority of the Slytherins were doubled over laughing as some of the Gryffindors cast various spells at the insects, looking on in dismay as the quick insects evaded the spells and dripped sticky treacle over their wands.

Anna stood up slowly from behind her desk and took in the situation as she trembled all over.

Students were now attempting to hit the Glumbumbles with their books and treacle covered almost every inch of the room (including Malfoy and his gang who were trying to pull the sticky substance from their hair in disgust).

Biting her bottom lip, Anna raised her own wand and cast a stunning spell at one of the insects.

Far from correcting the situation, the spell only seemed to anger the Glumbumble further and it flew angrily towards her, followed by the other one.

Anna didn't even realize she was screaming and batting wildly at the insects until a cold, commanding voice sounded from the doorway.

"I was under the impression that you were to be teaching Astronomy this year, not Care for Magical Creatures."

Anna gave a silent groan as she recognized Professor Snape's voice and continued to bat at the insects, which had covered her thoroughly in the treacle-like substance and were now buzzing menacingly around her face.

Suddenly there was a brief flash of light and the two Glumbumbles dropped harmlessly to the ground beside Anna.

Depressed and sticky, she stood up straight and looked around the room, avoiding Snape's dark gaze.

"Is…is everyone ok?" she asked quietly.

Murmurs of assent sounded through the room, the Slytherins fighting back fits of laughter as they looked at their new professor. The Gryffindors cast her sympathetic glances as they attempted to remove the treacle from their robes.

"Good…well, er, class dismissed." She said, realizing that it was indeed the end of lesson.

The class filed out of the room past Snape quickly. The Potions Master merely glared at them until they were all gone.

As the door shut behind the last student, Snape looked over at Anna who was trying, without success, to remove the sticky substance from her hair.

"Do you always bring your pets to class?" he asked, sarcasm dripping from his voice as he folded his arms across his chest.

Anna didn't know whether to laugh, cry or shout at him. So she sat down, still avoiding his gaze.

"Thanks…" Anna sighed and pushed a few sticky strands of hair from her face before raising her head to look at him.

There was no emotion on his face but irritation flickered in the dark depths of his eyes.

"I would suggest, _professor_," his thin lips twisted into a sneer at that word before he continued, "that if you cannot control a class you should look for a different profession." With that said he turned on his heel and swept out of the room.

Anna stared at where he had been standing, an angry retort on her lips. Swallowing the remark she gazed around the empty, messy classroom. Her first lesson had been a failure and, though she was loathe admitting it, part of her silently agreed with Snape's last comment.

Tears threatened to well up in her eyes as she sat there. She clenched her slender hands into fists and took a deep breath. Firmly she squashed that annoying, yet logical, voice in her head that told her to quit and got to work cleaning up the sticky classroom.

_Maybe tomorrow will be better…_


	4. Midnight Mischief Part 1

Disclaimer: Still don't own it. Damn. The title of this story is from a song by Paul Oakenfold, something i didn't know until just recently.

**Chapter 4: Midnight Mischief Part 1**

Anna was surprised to awake in her small bed one morning to find that it was the beginning of October. She had been at Hogwarts for a full month, and despite her first week, she was starting to enjoy herself.

Throwing back the covers, she smothered a yawn and found her way into the bathroom.

As Anna went about her morning routine she reflected on the past month. After her dreadful first class, very little had improved for the rest of the week. There had been a number of times that she had thought about listening to that annoying part of her that told her to quit. It was the encouragement from professors such as Sprout and Dumbledore that had kept her from running though, and sure enough things did improve.

Word had spread rapidly about the events of her first class, with everyone in the castle having heard about it by dinnertime. Anna was afraid that her face would be permanently red for the rest of the year as the professors cast her sympathetic, yet amused, looks and the sound of laughter seemed to follow her throughout the corridors of the castle for the entire week.

On the advice of Professor Sprout, who had fast become Anna's friend, the new professor had given Draco detention in her next class with the six-year Slytherins.

The young Slytherin hadn't been at all happy about that and had proceeded to threaten Anna that he would be telling his father about her. She had also heard from a group of Gryffindors that he had been complaining loudly about the detention in Potions class, no doubt under the assumption that Snape would step in so he wouldn't have to do the required punishment.

Anna had been worried about both of these threats, but after discussing the matter with Minerva she had been assured that this was 'normal' behaviour for young Mr. Malfoy and to just ignore him.

Anna had also learned from Minerva that Snape favoured Slytherin house, but fortunately the Potions Master didn't seek to step between her and Draco in the matter of the detention and this seemed to increase Draco's apparent dislike of her.

Running a brush through her hair as she walked around her room, she found her thoughts drifting towards Professor Snape.

She had attempted to thank him properly for stopping the Glumbumbles, but every time she tried he had glared at her until she had shut up. So, giving up trying to thank the man, she had gone back to just being nice in the hopes that he would warm up to her.

Unfortunately it seemed that Severus Snape would no sooner be nice to Anna than he would be nice to Harry Potter, who he seemed to hold some sort of grudge against.

A soft sigh passed her lips. She just could not understand what his problem with her was. Maybe he just enjoyed being a grumpy git.

Tying her hair back in its usual plait, Anna promptly put all thoughts of Snape, Draco and classes from her mind. She didn't have a class until that evening, all her class work was marked and she fully intended to spend the day doing absolutely nothing but relaxing.

With that happy thought, she left her rooms and set off through the castle towards the library.

----------------

Anna brushed at the loose strands of hair falling in her eyes as she checked the telescopes lined up at the front of the tower courtyard. It was almost midnight and her class of second year Hufflepuff's had just finished their practical lesson and headed back to their dormitories.

She had spent almost the entire day in the library, having been caught up in a number of books. She would have stayed longer if the irritable Madam Pince hadn't found her hidden amongst a pile of books and reminded her that she had a class that night, not to mention a night patrol.

Anna had learnt many things in her first month at Hogwarts, and so far the most important was the nightly patrols that were done by the teachers and ghosts of the castle.

In past years the patrols had only happened every now and then to make sure students weren't breaking curfew, now, with the Dark Lord having returned, the patrols were held regularly every night to check the safety of the castle and it's occupants.

Since Anna had practical Astronomy classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays she had been assigned the nightly patrols for those two nights.

Stretching her arms above her head for a moment, Anna wrapped her discoloured black cloak around her shoulders, left the courtyard and walked down the spiralling stairs.

Upon reaching the bottom of the stone stairs she crossed the hallway and headed up a small flight of the same stone stairs to reach the second floor, her 'patrol area' for the night.

She had had the light of the moon to guide her down the Astronomy tower steps, but now she could barely see.

Removing her wand from one of her pockets she held it before her and muttered "Lumos."

The tip of her wand glowed with a steady light and with a small smile she set off down the corridor as quietly as she could, so as not to wake the snoring portraits.

Just over an hour had passed and Anna was quite thoroughly bored and tired. There was just nothing exciting or interesting about walking up and down corridors with only the company of happily snoozing portraits.

Just as she was wondering if anyone would notice if she went to bed early, she walked around a dark corner and straight into a dark someone.

A startled yelp escaped her lips and she dropped her wand in surprise.

"It's alright!" the man said, raising his own lighted wand to illuminate his face.

"Oh! Michael, it's just you." Anna breathed a sigh of relief.

"Sorry I startled you Annalyse, I didn't mean to." The Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher smiled at her as Anna picked up her wand and re-lit it.

"Oh no, that's ok. I guess I wasn't paying attention to where I was going." She gave him a sheepish smile.

Michael smiled at her again.

"Have you finished your patrol Annalyse?" he asked her, his hazel eyes casting a glance around the corridor.

"Er…" Anna checked her watch "I only have about fifteen minutes left, I was just considering going to bed actually. Though I shouldn't leave my patrol early, I mean I don't want to break the rules or – "

Michael chuckled and held up a hand to stop her babbling.

"Don't worry I wont tell anyway you left your patrol early." He grinned at her then bowed and indicated down the corridor. "Perhaps you would allow me to escort you to your rooms? Can't have anything nasty jumping out at you like I did."

Anna groaned and gave him a weak smile as he chuckled again.

With that the two professors headed down the corridors and hallways towards Anna's rooms, talking quietly with each other so as not to disturb the sleeping portraits that lined the walls.

"Thank you for, er, escorting me." Anna smiled at Michael as they came to a stop outside her door.

"Not at all, not at all. Now I think I had better get back to my patrol, don't want that Snape catching me slacking off. Goodnight Annalyse."

"Goodnight."

Michael waved farewell before continuing down the corridor and disappearing around a corner.

Anna watched him leave, a smile lingering upon her pale lips.

_He really is a nice man,_ she thought, _handsome too._

Shaking her head slightly she unlocked her door and entered her bedroom to get ready for bed.


	5. Midnight Mischief Part 2

Disclaimer: Nope. Still don't own Snape or anything Harry Potter related. Damn. I also don't own the title of this story, it is from a song by Paul Oakenfold, something i did not realise until just recently.

**Chapter 5: Midnight Mischief Part 2**

A happy sigh escaped Anna's lips as she curled up in her bed, pulling the covers up around her neck. Finally she could rest, undisturbed in her small yet comfy bed.

Or so she thought.

Just as sleep was creeping up on her, a loud crash and laughter was heard outside Anna's door.

Her eyes flew open as she sat up, the blankets pooling around her hips. Her thin nightgown was little protection against the cold in her room and she shivered as she listened intently for any more sounds.

There was a clang of metal and more laughter, which became quieter as whoever it was departed from the corridor outside her rooms.

Anna listened for a moment longer before lying back down again.

She had just fallen to sleep when another crash sounded outside her door and caused her to sit up again with an annoyed moan.

Throwing the covers off, Anna stood up, a shiver running through her as her bare feet touched the stone floor.

Pulling one of her nightgown's straps back up to her shoulder, she walked over to the door and opened it.

Pieces from a suit of armour were scattered throughout the corridor, but she couldn't see anything or anyone else.

With a frown upon her face Anna continued to squint into the darkness. After a few minutes she shook her head and closed the door.

Running a hand through her unbound hair in confusion she turned around and gave a small scream of fright.

Floating in the air before her was a little man with dark eyes and a wide grin. He poked his tongue out at Anna as she glared at him.

"Peeves! What are you doing?"

He blew a loud raspberry at her and proceeded to float upside down.

"Aw, did Peevesy give the little professor a fright?" he cackled before proceeding to swoop around her room, opening drawers to throw clothes and books around the room.

Anna ducked a rather large book, which hit the door behind her with a loud bang.

"Peeves! Stop it!" she yelled at the poltergeist who paid absolutely no attention to her words.

One of Anna's shirts landed on her head as the poltergeist continued to destroy her room, cackling and singing some nonsense song while he did it. She pulled the shirt off of her head in time to see Peeves swoop towards her still cackling.

Anna pulled the door open and ran out into the corridor.

The door was promptly shut behind her and she heard the distinct sound of the lock clicking.

"Oh great."

She tried to turn the door handle, but the door was quite obviously locked. So she banged her fist on the door and yelled at the poltergeist. Unfortunately he was either ignoring her or couldn't hear her over the sounds of her room being completely destroyed.

"Are you trying to wake up the entire castle for a reason, Professor Chambers?"

Anna stopped banging her fist on the door and turned slowly towards the voice.

_Please, please, please don't let it be who I think it is._

Anna repressed the urge to cry as she saw Snape standing nearby dressed in his usual black robes, his arms folded across his chest and one black eyebrow raised.

The man had an uncanny knack for turning up when she was in an embarrassing situation.

Before she could reply to his question, Snape continued speaking.

"Do you make it a habit to walk around the corridors in your nightgown?" his dark eyes swept over her form and Anna felt the heat rise in her face as she remembered that she was indeed only wearing her old, thin nightgown.

Her slender hands hung by her sides, twisting the material slightly as she tried desperately to avoid his gaze. However, looking at him going to be unavoidable as he walked over to stand directly in front of her.

"I believe I asked you a couple of questions, Professor Chambers." His voice was as cold as the stone corridor. A shiver ran through Anna's body, but she was unsure as to whether it was from the corridor or his voice.

"I wasn't trying to wake up the castle…" she whispered, looking at her bare feet.

"Speak up!"

She raised her head, her pale eyes meeting the gaze of his dark ones.

"I wasn't trying to wake up the castle," she repeated, louder this time, "Peeves locked me out of my room."

"And you didn't try, say, unlocking the door?" he frowned at her.

"Well, my wand is in my room and I don't exactly have a key…" she trailed off as he scowled at her.

Anna shivered again and gulped as he bent closer to her so that their noses were almost touching.

_Wow, his eyes are so dark and so…_

"Well then, you will have to wait until the poltergeist decides to unlock the door for you." With that he sneered at her and swept past her.

She stared at where he had been standing before shaking her head and calling out after him.

"Wait!"

The Potions Master paused, but did not turn around.

"Couldn't…couldn't you get rid of Peeves? Please?" she bit her bottom lip.

Snape gave an exasperated sigh and walked back to her.

"Let me make it clear, _Professor_, that I am not at your beck and call and I will not help you out every time you get in trouble." He hissed at her.

She nodded meekly as he faced her door and got to work on unlocking it.

Wrapping her arms around herself she hopped slightly from foot to foot as he broke the wards she had upon the door.

"Would you stand still?" he snapped at her, turning his head slightly to look at her.

"Sorry, it's just…cold out here." She smiled nervously at him.

He continued to look at her coldly, causing her to blush again.

Focusing his attention back upon her door he muttered a few more words and an audible _click_ could be heard. The wooden door swung open to reveal Peeves, who was still cackling, throwing some of Anna's clothes across the room. Including some of her bras.

A particularly lacy one landed at Snape's feet.

Anna was quite sure that her face was bright red by then.

Snape cleared his throat and stepped over the bra and into the room.

"Peeves!" he snapped at the Poltergeist.

At the sound of the Potions Master's voice, Peeves stopped ripping pages out of one of Anna's books and looked over at Snape.

"Peeves. Get out."

Peeves stuck his tongue out at Snape and happily resumed his destruction of the book.

"Do I have to call the Bloody Baron, Peeves?" Snape said coldly.

That caught the poltergeist's attention, and throwing the battered remains of the book at the wall he swept out of the room, blowing another raspberry at Anna before he left.

Snape studied the damage the poltergeist had done to Anna's rooms for a moment before facing Anna, who was attempting to kick the bra under her bed and out of sight.

"Peeves is gone. I suggest you tidy up." His eyes swept over her again as she shivered. "And I suggest that you wear something warmer next time."

He swept past her towards the door.

"Thankyou, Professor Snape."

He paused just outside the door, looking back over his shoulder at her.

"Oh and, Professor Chambers, if you do not learn how to handle your own problems and gain a backbone," he sneered at her again, "I will be sure to tell the Headmaster that you are quite incapable of controlling a class and recommend that you are replaced." With that said he disappeared into the shadows.

Anna's hands clenched into fists at that last comment.

She had had enough of his cruel remarks and references to her being 'incapable of controlling a class'.

Snatching up her wand she began casting spells to restore her room, casting them somewhat too well as books thumped back into the bookshelf and her clothes flew into the wardrobe, the mirror on the wardrobe door cracking as the door slammed shut.

"Backbone, hmm?" she muttered as she climbed into her bed.

She was not going to be replaced.

She was not going to let _him_ walk all over her.

Oh no, she would show him that she could control a class.


	6. Hogsmeade Happenings

Disclaimer: If i owned Harry Potter, do you really think i would be sitting here writing fan fiction? The title of this story is from a song by Paul Oakenfold, something i didn't know until just recently.

**Chapter 6: Hogsmeade Happenings**

A smile curved its way upon Anna's lips as she climbed out of the carriage she had shared with Professors McGonagall and Sprout on the way to Hogsmeade.

It was the first Hogsmeade trip of the year and some of the professors had decided to accompany the students to the village, much to Anna's delight as she was looking forward to doing some much needed shopping, especially since she had received her pay. She was positively thrilled at the prospect of buying new robes to replace her shabby ones.

The three professors went their separate ways once they reached the wizarding village, Sprout reminding Anna that they had agreed to meet in the Three Broomsticks at three o'clock.

"Yes, yes, I remember!" Anna smiled at the short witch who returned it before setting off to do some shopping of her own.

The day passed fairly quickly for Anna as she made her way through the village. Students were everywhere, especially in Honeydukes and Zonko's. Owls from the nearby post office swooped overhead and various animal noises could be heard from the menagerie. Not too mention all the noise from the crowd of happy shopping witches and wizards.

At quarter to three Anna made her way to the Three Broomsticks. She pushed the heavy wooden door open awkwardly as her hands were full with bags containing the results of her shopping expedition.

Laughter and the chatter of various witches and wizards could be heard as Anna entered the small, crowded pub. It seemed that half the occupants were students, all clasping bottles of Butterbeer and conversing happily.

Weaving through tables and chairs she found an unoccupied table in one corner. Sliding into a seat, Anna placed her bags on the ground by her feet and looked around, wondering if any of the other professors were here yet.

"Hello, Professor Chambers."

Anna looked over her shoulder to see three students seated at the table behind her.

"Hello Hermione, Ron, Harry," She nodded to each of the students who smiled back at her. "Are you enjoying your day?" she inquired.

"Yeah, Honeydukes is great!"

"Is that all you think about Ron? Food?" Hermione asked the red haired boy as Harry rolled his eyes. Anna chuckled, turning back to look at the door to the pub which had just opened.

Anna waved her arm as she saw Sprout; closely followed by McGonagall, enter.

"Ah, there you are Annalyse! Have a good time shopping?' Sprout asked as she sat down, placing her own bags on the ground.

"Oh yes, I did." Anna grinned.

McGonagall smiled slightly and took the seat next to Anna.

"Can I get you some drinks?" Madam Rosmerta appeared by their table.

The three professors ordered their drinks and settled into conversation, each discussing what they had bought, their latest classes and so on. Only pausing in their talk to thank Madam Rosmerta for bringing them their drinks.

"Are you enjoying your classes Annalyse?" Sprout asked.

"Oh, yes, they're much better now."

"That was a dreadful first lesson you had wasn't it?" McGonagall commented.

A slight blush rose in Anna's cheeks as she remembered that lesson almost two months ago.

"Yes, well, things have improved since then. Classes anyway." Anna sighed.

"Oh? Has something happened Annalyse?" Sprout asked, looking concerned.

But before Anna could answer, they were interrupted as Professor Marlan appeared by their table.

He grinned at them.

"May I join you lovely ladies?" he asked.

Sprout chuckled as Anna and McGonagall exchanged a look, smiling.

"Of course, Michael." McGonagall gestured to the empty seat beside Anna.

"Thank you, sorry for interrupting your conversation."

"That's alright. So Annalyse," Sprout focused her attention on the young professor, "Have you been having any problems?"

"Problems?" Michael looked at Anna.

"Oh no, please, it's nothing important…I just don't seem to be getting along that well with Professor Snape."

Michael snorted and Sprout gave her a sympathetic look.

"Severus gets along with very few people, Annalyse." McGonagall told her.

"If you ask me, that greasy git doesn't get along with anyone. I don't see how he could be Head of a house, let alone the Potions Master." Michael stated.

"He's not all bad, I mean he's helped me out a few times." Anna said, turning to face Michael who raised an eyebrow. McGonagall and Sprout watched the two.

"Helped you? By doing what? Making sarcastic comments like the great overgrown bat that he is?" he laughed a bit.

"He helped get rid of those Glumbumbles in my first class and he got rid of Peeves the other week when that dratted poltergeist was destroying my room." Anna couldn't understand why she was getting defensive; it wasn't like she was friends with Snape or anything. Perhaps it was just Michael's surge of arrogance that annoyed her.

"Peeves was destroying your room?" McGonagall asked.

"Severus got rid of him?" Sprout said, looking slightly shocked.

"Well, yes. He wasn't very nice about it, but he did help." Anna turned her gaze to the older women while Michael rolled his eyes.

Sprout and McGonagall exchanged a look.

"What?" Anna asked.

The two women looked at her.

"What?" she asked again.

"Well…Severus doesn't usually go out of his way to help people, my dear." McGonagall said.

"Yes, he must like you." Sprout chuckled.

Michael was just staring at them, as if the very idea that Snape could like Anna was ridiculous. Anna privately felt the same way.

"Like me?" Anna stared at them as well. She was about to say more on the subject when McGonagall interrupted her.

"Perhaps we should make our way back to the castle." The elderly witch glanced at her watch.

"Yes, coming Annalyse?" Sprout stood up.

"What? Oh yes, ok, sure." She frowned at the sudden change of subject but stood up as well, gathering her bags. She would corner McGonagall and Sprout later perhaps. "Excuse me, Professor Marlan." She said with a slight edge of annoyance in her voice, she felt annoyed at him for insulting Snape. She had no idea why though.

He stood up, allowing her to pass. Sprout and McGonagall had already made their way through the crowded pub to the door.

"Anna," Michael said, catching hold of her arm as she moved past him. "Look, Snape is bad news, I don't think he helped you just out of the kindness of his heart."

Anna looked up at him.

"Well then why did he do it? Both of us have only been at Hogwarts for two months, how would you know what Professor Snape is like?" she looked at his hand holding her arm.

Michael removed his hand, albeit slowly.

"And how would _you_ know what Snape's like?" he retorted.

Anna looked up at him again, meeting his hazel eyes, but she didn't answer. Instead she turned, went over to the door and followed Sprout and McGonagall outside.

Maybe Professor Marlan wasn't as nice as she thought.

And why was she defending Professor Snape?


	7. Deceptive Deeds

Disclaimer: If i owned Harry Potter i would be busy writing the last book instead of sitting here writing fan fiction. The title of this story is from a song by Paul Oakenfold, something i didn't know until just recently.

**Chapter 7: Deceptive Deeds**

Anna sighed as she munched on her piece of toast, completely lost in thought and unaware of everything that was happening in the Great Hall.

The sudden hooting of owls woke her from her reverie. In a flurry of feathers, owls of all kinds swooped into the Great Hall with the morning post. Anna rummaged in the pocket of her new blue robes, drawing out a few Knuts to pay the owl sitting on the staff table, the _Daily Prophet_ clasped in it's beak.

When the owl had been paid and departed, Anna unfolded the paper and frowned at the front page.

_"Nine killed in Death Eater attack."_

Was the headline above a large photo of the Dark Mark glittering in the night sky.

"That's the third attack this week." Anna said quietly to no one in particular.

She continued reading the article, giving a slight sigh of relief when she didn't recognise the names of any of those killed. Having briefly worked in various departments of the Ministry of Magic, Anna knew some of the people who worked to stop the Death Eaters and You-Know-Who.

She flipped through the rest of the paper, but it was all about the attack so she folded it carefully, so as to hide the picture of the Dark Mark, and placed it beside her plate of now-cold toast.

Oh how she hated You-Know-Who and the Death Eaters!

She hated the evil they spread, not to mention the fear, and she hated how they hurt good people. Good people like her brother, Eric, who was in St Mungo's. Permently.

Thinking of Eric caused a lump of sadness to form in her throat. Taking a deep breath she glanced at the folded _Daily Prophet_. At least she would be able to visit him soon, it was almost the end of November and the Christmas holidays were approaching fast.

Anna looked around the staff table. A few of the other professors had copies of the _Daily Prophet_ in front of them and were involved in quiet conversations, worried looks on all their faces.

Anna tried to hear what McGonagall and Sprout were saying, but they were conversing in very quiet whispers.

Resting her chin in one hand, Anna cast a look at the empty seat beside her. Professor Snape was absent from breakfast, not for the first time Anna noted.

There was something going on with Professor Snape. Every time Anna had seen him lately, he looked pale and worn out. He also, if it was possible, had become even nastier during the past week. Nastier to everyone, not just Anna. She doubted if his classes were having this effect on him, perhaps he was sick?

She gave her head a slight shake and rose from her seat. Picking up the _Daily Prophet_ she left the Great Hall to make a quick stop at her office before her first class of the day, a single lesson with third year Ravenclaws. A good morning lesson, Anna thoroughly enjoyed teaching students of her old house.

Anna entered her office, leaving the door open, and began to rummage through her desk drawers for her lesson plan and the new quill she had bought in Hogsmeade.

"Annalyse?"

She looked up, brushing some wayward strands of hair from her face, to see Michael Marlan standing in the doorway wearing red velvet robes.

"Yes, Michael?"

He rubbed the back of his neck with one hand for a moment before he spoke.

"Look, I know you're probably still annoyed with me – "

"I'm not annoyed with you, Michael." She went back to searching through the desk drawers. Michael had apologised not long after their conversation in Hogsmeade, Anna had accepted and offered her own apology. She still couldn't quite grasp why she had gotten defensive.

"Yes, well, I was wondering if you would like to do something this weekend?"

Anna straightened up from bending over the drawers, her timetable and quill in her hands.

"What? You mean…a date?" she said uncertainly.

"Yeah, you could say that." He gave her a sheepish grin.

Anna stared at him; taking in his hazel eyes, light brown hair and straight nose. He certainly was handsome, arrogant at times, but still nice…and he wanted to date _her?_

"Oh, er…" casting a glance at her watch she realised she was late for her class. "Er, I'm late for my class, can I give you an answer later?"

"Ah, sure Annalyse."

"Ok. I will talk to you later Michael." With that she left her office quickly, Michael watching her walk away in silence.

A smirk slowly appeared on his lips.


	8. Temper Tantrums

Disclaimer: Nope. Still don't own Harry Potter. Damn. The title of this story is from a song by Paul Oakenfold, something i didn't know until just recently.

**Chapter 8: Temper Tantrums**

The moment the class had finished and the students had departed, Anna was out the door, determined to find Sprout and ask for her advice on what to do about Michael.

She was utterly confused and had dwelt on the matter of the date throughout the entire lesson, causing some of the students to repeatedly ask if she was alright since she kept forgetting what she was talking to them about.

Part of her wanted to say yes to Michael, while the other part wanted to say no. Anna hadn't exactly had much experience in the dating world so she desperately hoped that Sprout could help her.

Anna walked quickly through the castle, dodging students moving to their classes. It was a few minutes before she realised that she had absolutely no idea where she was going.

Would Sprout be in the staff room?

Where was her classroom?

Just as she was considering checking the staff room, Snape came striding towards her quickly, scattering the crowds of students and a scowl upon his pale face.

"Oh! Professor Snape! Do you know where Professor Sprout is?" she asked as he approached.

"Greenhouse!" he snapped angrily, barely even looking at her as he swept past towards the dungeons, his black robes billowing out behind him.

"Huh?" Anna watched as he walked away, not understanding what he meant. "Oh, the greenhouses! Herbology, right!" she lightly smacked her forehead with her palm, causing her to receive a few odd glances from various students. Ignoring them, Anna set off to visit the greenhouses.

There were seven greenhouses in total, one for each student's year. Anna visited six of them before she spotted Sprout exiting the greenhouse reserved for seventh year students.

"Professor Sprout!" Anna called as she ran over to the Herbology professor. "Can I talk to you for a moment?" she quickly matched Sprout's pace as they walked briskly towards the castle.

"Oh, Annalyse, I'm afraid we will have to talk later. We have a staff meeting now you know, and I must say that we are running a bit late!" they entered the castle, moving quickly down the corridors as they talked.

"Meeting?" Anna asked, slightly puzzled, "Oh, right, the staff meeting."

Dumbledore had sent notes to all of the teachers during their first classes, detailing that there was to be a staff meeting in his office at lunchtime. The conversation with Michael, however, had driven the meeting from her mind.

"What is this meeting about?" Anna asked as they walked.

"Oh, I believe it's about those dreadful attacks." Sprout said as they approached a large stone gargoyle that was crouched against one wall.

"Yes, I read about them in the _Daily Prophet_ this morning." The two professors stopped in front of the gargoyle.

"Fizzing Whizbee." Sprout said in a clear voice to the gargoyle. Anna gave her a curious look before her attention was drawn back to the gargoyle, which had stood up and jumped to one side to reveal a winding staircase.

"So this is where the Headmaster's office is?"

"Why yes, have you not been here before?" Sprout looked up at Anna as they climbed the staircase.

"No. It's a good thing I found you then, I would have had no idea where to go! I think I need to get myself a map." Anna grinned at Sprout who chuckled slightly.

Upon reaching the heavy wooden door with a handle shaped like a teacup, the two women could hear the murmur of voices in the room behind the door.

Raising one hand, Sprout rapped on the door a couple of times. Seconds later it was opened and Dumbledore stood there, smiling at them.

"Ah, our group is complete. Come in, come in," he beckoned them into his office.

And what an odd office it was.

Portraits of all the previous Headmasters and Headmistresses lined every inch of the walls, odd looking silver instruments were upon the large desk and in one corner, just behind the desk, was a golden stand with a rather ill looking phoenix perched on it.

Not to mention the odd assortment of different chairs that occupied the rest of the room and had a professor sitting in each of them. There were large comfy looking armchairs, plain wooden chairs and a couple of barstools.

A table covered in plates of sandwiches, jugs of pumpkin juice and for some reason, mint humbugs, was situated in the middle of the room.

Anna looked around for a spare seat; Michael waved and pointed to an empty chair next to him. Sprout was closer though and quickly sat down, not that Anna had been exactly rushing to sit next to Michael. She just didn't feel like talking to him right now, he would probably ask her if she had made her mind up yet and she hadn't.

"I think there is a seat over in that corner, my dear." Dumbledore pointed to a large embroidered armchair that was situated next to an ornately carved wooden chair, which was occupied by a scowling Snape.

A small frown appeared on Anna's lips as she weaved through the other chairs and sat down in the overly large armchair.

Anna looked over at Snape once she had sat down. Shadows wrapped around him, seemingly reflecting the dark mood he appeared to be in.

The scowl was still upon his pale face, though fatigue could be seen there as well. His dark eyes revealed nothing as he watched Dumbledore, his arms folded across his chest. All in all, Anna thought he looked tired and irritated, which is how he had looked for the past couple of weeks.

"Now, I think I should explain why I called you all here," Dumbledore stood in front of his desk as he talked to the professors who were listening attentively. "But before I do, I would just like to remind you that it _is_ lunchtime, so help yourselves to the sandwiches." He smiled at them, but the usual twinkle was missing from his bright blue eyes.

At his words, a couple of professors leaned forward in their chairs to grab sandwiches while Dumbledore continued talking.

"You have all heard about the recent attacks?" There were murmurs of assent throughout the room. Dumbledore nodded, "Because of the increase in Death Eater activity, we must increase the protection of the students. Therefore, nightly patrols will be increased and for everyone's safety, they will be carried out in pairs instead of alone."

The professors exchanged glances and a few whispers ran through the group.

"Why must we be in pairs? Surely Hogwarts will not be attacked, and besides, we are quite capable of patrolling by ourselves." One professor said.

"Even though Hogwarts is well protected by magic, we can take no chances. You will be safer patrolling with someone else." Dumbledore explained. "Which brings me to my next topic, who is paired with who."

Anna glanced over at Michael, who smiled at her as Dumbledore began reading out names from a sheet of parchment on his desk.

"Sprout and Vector, Marlan and McGonagall,"

Anna couldn't help but smile at the look on Michael's face. Obviously he had hoped to be paired with her.

"Flitwick and Hooch, Snape and Chambers."

Anna stared at Dumbledore in disbelief and she saw Snape move slightly out of the corner of her eye.

"New patrols will start as of tonight. Now I believe we have classes to teach." There was the sound of scraping chairs as the professors stood up and began to file out of the office, talking quietly amongst themselves.

Anna, Michael and Snape lingered behind. Each wanting to speak with the Headmaster, but it was Michael who approached him first.

"Albus, is there a reason behind these pairings? I mean, must I be paired with Minerva?"

Snape stood by his chair in the shadows, glowering at the back of Michael's head as Anna hovered near the table of sandwiches, absently biting her bottom lip.

"Michael, each professor has been paired up with great thought and care. I believe you will work well with Minerva." Dumbledore looked at the young Defence Against the Dark Arts professor from over the top of his half-moon spectacles.

Michael frowned and was about to reply when an icy voice sounded in the room.

"Headmaster, surely you do not consider it a good idea to pair me with Professor Chambers?" Snape took a few steps forward as he spoke.

Michael turned slightly, fixing Snape with a glare.

"_I_ certainly don't consider it a good idea!" Michael continued to glare at Snape, who returned it.

"No one asked for your opinion, Marlan." Snape hissed.

Anna and Dumbledore simply stood, staring at the two men. Dumbledore started to speak, but Michael cut him off.

"Well, too bad! Are you afraid of her Snape? Is that why you refuse to be paired with her? Is it your fear that annoys you?" Michael sneered.

"It is her incompetence and complete inability to be of use to anyone that annoys me!" The Potions Master and Michael were now standing directly in front of each other, though Snape seemed to have the advantage since he was taller.

"Professors…" Anna said, moving forward slightly while Dumbledore watched the three professors in silence.

"Oh really? She's more useful than you would ever be!" Michael snapped, his hands clenched into fists.

"Please, stop – " Anna tried again.

"You know nothing of her, or me, you arrogant – "

"Enough!"

Snape stopped speaking and all three men fixed their attention on Anna.

Something inside of her had snapped. Everything that had happened today, everything that had happened in the past few months had finally caught up with her, fuelling her hidden temper.

Anna glared at Michael and Snape, Dumbledore still stood by his desk watching the events unfold before him.

"I am quite capable of defending myself, Michael! And it is not for you to decide if this is a good idea or not!"

"Annalyse – " Michael started, but Anna ignored him and rounded on Snape. She pointed one finger at him as she spoke.

"And you! I am sick and tired of your constant insults!" she prodded his chest with her finger, glaring up at the tall professor who looked somewhat shocked. "I have done nothing to you, except try and be nice, so what is your bloody problem?" she snarled.

All three men stared at her.

Frowning, Anna swept her gaze over the two men she had just yelled at.

"I've had enough. Until you check your arrogance, I will not be dating you Michael."

Dumbledore and Snape both looked at Michael, who looked ready to speak again, but Anna once again ignored him.

"As for you, _Professor_ Snape, don't assume you know what I am or am not capable of! I _can_ solve my own problems no matter what you say!" Anna snapped at them before storming out of the office, the door slamming shut behind her.

Snape and Michael stood still, Michael looking both shocked and confused. Snape's thin lips were set in a frown and anger flickered in his eyes.

Dumbledore chuckled softly.

He had, of course, heard all of Snape's complaints against Anna, as well as knowing that Michael fancied her, but neither had taken his advice.

The two men looked at Dumbledore who was still chuckling softly.

"I warned you that she had a temper."


	9. Practical Progress Part 1

Disclaimer: Seriously, if I owned Harry Potter (Or Severus Snape for that matter) do you really think I would be sitting here writing fan fiction? Yeah, think about it. The title of this story is from a song by Paul Oakenfold, something i didn't know until just recently.

**Chapter 9: Practical Progress Part 1**

A groan issued from her lips as Anna let her head fall upon the surface of her classroom desk.

After she had stormed out of Dumbledore's office she had stomped through the hallways until she had reached her classroom, and by the time she got there, Anna's temper had cooled and she realised what had just happened.

Raising her head, Anna leant back slightly in her chair to gaze at the stone ceiling of the small classroom. She had lost her temper, something she usually kept locked up and under tight control. She had lost her temper and yelled at both Snape and Michael, in front of the Headmaster!

Heck, she had even refused to date Michael…

A slight frown formed upon her lips at that thought, but it wasn't a frown of unhappiness, just a frown that reflected her confusion.

She still wasn't sure if she had wanted to go out with him…not that it mattered now, she had said no and Michael probably wouldn't want to date her anyway, not after she had just yelled at him for basically being an arrogant git.

Anna closed her eyes as thoughts continued to scurry through her mind. The most prominent of these thoughts was the irritable Potions Master, Severus Snape.

What was she going to do about him?

She just could not understand the man, nor could she understand her feelings towards him. She hated the way he scowled, snapped and sneered at her, but at the same time she had to admit he fascinated her. His reluctant helpfulness, his cold, velvety voice, those dark obsidian eyes…

A slight shiver raced through her as she remembered that dark gaze upon her the night Peeves had locked her out of her rooms.

Anna's eyes snapped open.

_Do I have feelings for Professor Snape?_

She shook her head and rose from her seat. No, there was absolutely no way that could be true. There was no way that she could _like_ Snape…was there?

With a sigh of frustration, Anna shoved all of these thoughts from her mind and busied herself with preparing for her last class of the day.

----------------------------------------

The rest of the day was fairly uneventful. Her last class of fourth year Hufflepuffs had been well behaved, which was probably lucky for all concerned. With her temper so close to the surface, Anna really didn't want a repeat of what had happened in the Headmaster's office.

Dinner came and went, Anna taking dinner in her rooms rather than having to face Michael and Dumbledore in the Great Hall. Though she wouldn't be able to avoid Snape as easily since they had patrol together in half hours time.

Pacing her small bedroom, Anna tried to think positively about tonight's new patrol.

Tried and failed miserably.

She paused in her pacing for a moment, twisting the material of one sleeve in her hands before she resumed her previous activity of pacing.

"You'll wear a hole through the floor, dearest." Wheezed the old mirror hanging in the bathroom. Anna stopped at the bathroom's open doorway and scowled at the mirror.

The faint sound of knocking on her office door drew her attention away from the old mirror.

"Expecting company at this time of night, my dear?" the old mirror said slyly.

Anna shut the bathroom door.

The sound of knocking came once again as Anna left her bedroom and entered her office through the connecting doorway.

"Coming!" she called. Stopping by the door she grasped the doorknob in one hand. Taking a deep breath she opened the door and looked up at Snape.

To say he looked annoyed would be an understatement. Anger and irritation seemed to burn in the depths of his eyes and a rather menacing scowl rested upon his face.

"I trust you are ready for patrol?" he spoke calmly, a direct contradiction to the anger evident in his eyes.

_No_, she thought.

"Yes." She said.

Anna followed Snape out into the hallway, pausing just long enough to place the wards on her door. The two professors set off down the hallway in silence, only speaking to light their wands.

Time dragged by slowly and silently. Snape made no effort for conversation and Anna just didn't see the point in trying to talk to him, especially since he seemed to be focusing all his attention on ignoring her.

She had never been more bored in her life.

Anna stifled a yawn as they reached a fork in the corridor and stopped in front of a large suit of armour that seemed to be snoring.

"I suggest we split up." Snape didn't wait for her to reply, but set off straight away to disappear into the shadows of the left corridor.

"Sure, why not." Anna muttered and headed down the right side corridor, her lit wand casting a dim glow around her.

Snoring portraits were once again Anna's only companions as she walked slowly down the corridor. A yawn escaped her lips and she stopped for a moment to try and work out where exactly she was.

"Transfiguration." She said softly as the light from her wand fell upon the carved door of McGonagall's classroom. There only a few small portraits occupying the walls by the Transfiguration classroom, and unlike some of the larger ones, these portrait occupants were sleeping quietly. The silence was making Anna edgy as she examined the carvings on the classroom door.

A loud _bang_ shattered the silence.

Anna jumped at the noise and span around to face the direction she had just come from.

_Far too many things go bump in the night around here,_ she thought as she raced down the corridor. Another _bang_ and the clang of metal could be heard, louder this time, as Anna ran towards the source, her blue robes fluttering behind her.

Thoughts of what could have possibly happened sped through her mind as she dashed down the corridor. Anna gripped her wand tightly as she ran around the corner and straight into something.

"Oof!"

She fell backwards onto the ground as whatever she had ran into fell on top of her. Anna had closed her eyes when she hit the ground. Now she opened them and looked straight up at Snape who was lying on top of her.

_Oh dear…_ she thought as she felt the heat rise in her face.

A look of surprise was etched on Snape's face as he returned Anna's gaze.

Neither of them moved, each of them apparently too stunned. Anna's heart was racing as she became aware of the spicy smell of herbs and other potion ingredients that clung to his robes, his weight on top of her, his face right in front of hers, his lips barely an inch from hers…

"Er…Hello." Anna said nervously. Her words seemed to snap Snape out of his surprise for he quickly pushed himself off of her and stood up, clearing his throat and avoiding her gaze as she stood up. Anna winced and placed a hand on her lower back, that fall was going to leave a bruise for sure.

"You should watch where you're going." Snape stated as he picked up his wand, which he had dropped when they collided.

"Me?" Anna frowned at him. "You're the one who ran straight into me!"

Snape turned to face her, what was left of the surprise on his face being replaced by anger.

"You're the one who wasn't looking where you were going." He snapped.

"Oh really? I beg to differ!" She snapped right back at him.

Snape opened his mouth to reply, but the anger on his face was swiftly replaced with pain. The Potions Master involuntarily clasped his left arm, turning away from Anna as he did so.

"Professor Snape?" Anna's anger was replaced with concern, just as his had been replaced with pain. "Are you ok?"

"Fine!" he snarled, his back to her. "I have some work to attend to. I suggest you return to your rooms." He seemed to flinch with some unknown pain before striding quickly away from her.

"But, Professor Snape…" Anna watched him leave, worry in her eyes. She should do as he said and return to her rooms, or perhaps she should tell Dumbledore what had happened. There was obviously something wrong.

Just as Anna was about to head to Dumbledore's office, a thought occurred to her. Perhaps this was connected to Snape being so tired and irritable lately, would it be so bad if she went to find out what was going on?

She bit her bottom lip before reaching a decision.

Turning around she ran off in the direction Snape had gone.

Neither of the professors seemed to have remembered the noises they had heard earlier.


	10. Practical Progress Part 2

Disclaimer: I can think of far more interesting things to do with Harry Potter (and Severus Snape) instead of writing fan fiction if I owned it. The title of this story is from a song by Paul Oakenfold, something i didn't know until just recently.

**Chapter 10: Practical Progress Part 2**

Anna's pace slowed until she came to stop in yet another dark corridor, her wand and the pale moon providing the only light.

"Damn." She muttered as she leant against a cool stone wall to catch her breath. She had lost Snape, black robes were certainly an advantage when walking around the castle at night. Not to mention the knack he had for appearing and disappearing into the shadows.

"So much for that idea." Anna sighed. What had happened? Was he alright? She desperately wanted to know, but without knowing where he had gone she had no way of finding out.

Raising her wand she surveyed her surroundings before walking down the corridor, running her free hand through her hair which had escaped it's loose plait while she was running.

_Just once I would like to know what an uneventful night is like._

Beams of pale moonlight filtered through the high windows, creating glowing patterns upon the dark stone floor.

Where should she go now? Should she do as Snape said and return to her rooms, or perhaps she should go see Dumbledore. Anna looked out at the star filled sky as she walked. If only she had the skills to teach Divination as well as Astronomy, maybe then she could get some answers.

Her footsteps echoed around her as she walked down a small flight of steps to reach the Entrance Hall. Stopping at the bottom, she sat down on the steps.

The castle was certainly different at night, what with the absence of the students rushing around.

Anna drew her knees up closer to her chest and wrapped her arms loosely around them.

Too many things had happened recently and she had so little time to try and figure everything out. Her classes, Michael, Snape… Everything was just so confusing. Not to mention the on going war against He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and the Death Eaters.

Propping her elbows on her knees, Anna rested her chin in her hands. Christmas holidays were next week, Anna would be able to go visit Eric. She only wished that he was able to help her, but knew that would never happen. Eric just wasn't _there_ anymore, not since that Death Eater attack years ago.

Anna was snapped out of her reverie by the sudden _slam_ of one of the main castle doors opening.

She stood up quickly, wand raised and a stunning spell upon her lips. It was a shocked gasp, however, that escaped her pale lips as she watched the dark form of Severus Snape stumble into the castle and collapse onto the ground.

Within moments she was kneeling by his side.

"Professor Snape!"

Snape moved slightly as he lay upon his back, his face creased with pain and whiter than Anna had ever seen it. His thin lips moved as his eyes opened slowly.

"…Dumbledore…must…tell…" he rolled over onto his knees, hands upon the ground and head bowed as he hissed in pain.

"Dumbledore?" Anna reached a hand tentatively towards Snape, who didn't even seem to notice her presence beside him as he tried to stand up. "Please, Professor Snape, you're hurt." She reached out again to steady him as they both rose to their feet. "You need to go to the Hospital Wing!" concern was clearly evident on her face as she watched him with wide eyes and gently held one of his arms to support him.

"We have to get you to the Hospital Wing!" It was her insistent request that seemed to finally reach him.

Snape looked down at her, as if only just registering her presence. He removed his arm from her grasp, wincing as he swayed slightly upon his feet.

"I'm…perfectly fine," he rasped. "I must speak…with the Headmaster." He started to walk in the direction of the Headmaster's office, but after a few steps he fell to his knees, clutching his right side as he let out another low hiss of pain.

Anna rushed to his side.

"You are _not_ fine! Please, just go to the Hospital Wing. I can go get Dumbledore once your there and Poppy's fixed you up." Anna had a great liking for the Hogwarts Matron, having seen the wonderful way she cared for the injured and sick students throughout the term. Not to mention her own experience with the bustling matron's attentions when she had come down with a bad cold last month.

"No! I must – " whatever he had been about to say was cut off as a spasm of pain racked his body.

Anna ignored his protest, tucked her wand in her robe pocket and pulled one of his arms around her shoulder, slipping one of her arms carefully around his waist as she helped him stand up again. Snape appeared to either have finally accepted her help to the Hospital Wing or he was just in too much pain to argue. Anna was betting on the latter.

Slowly and with some difficulty, the two professors reached the Hospital Wing. Keeping a steady grip on Snape, Anna knocked on the door to the Hospital Wing.

"Madam Pomfrey! Poppy!" she called urgently as she knocked again. Casting a glance at Snape, Anna saw that his eyes were shut tight and his jaw was clenched against the pain racing through his body.

Just as she was about to knock again, the door opened to reveal the elderly matron dressed in a maroon robe and her greying hair pulled back hastily into a bun.

"Annalyse! What – " one of her hands flew to her mouth as she caught sight of Snape slumped against Anna. "Oh my! Quickly, bring him in!" Poppy moved to the side to allow the two in.

With Poppy's help, Anna managed to get Snape to lie down on one of the hospital beds. It was only once he was lying still that Anna noticed the blood seeping through his black robes on his right side.

"Look! He's bleeding!" Anna pointed as Poppy quickly examined Snape.

"Oh dear!" Poppy gently pulled the edge of his robes to one side in order to see the blood glistening on the dark material. "What happened Annalyse?"

"I…I don't know! Something happened to him during patrol and he disappeared down the corridor. Then when I was in the Entrance Hall, he just stumbled in like this!" she ran one hand through her brown hair. "He kept saying that he wanted to speak to Albus…I have to go get Albus!" despite the urgency in her voice, Anna hesitated as she looked at Snape's still form. He appeared to have dropped into unconsciousness.

"No need, Annalyse." Dumbledore came striding through the open doorway, wearing a deep red and gold robe and a look of worry on his face. "The flower girl portrait noticed you on the way to the Hospital Wing and informed me." He said in answer to their surprised looks.

"Poppy, do you need any assistance?" Dumbledore asked of the matron who was now bustling around, finding potions and bandages.

"no, no, I will be fine." She said absently.

"Good. I believe I need to talk to Annalyse for a moment." Dumbledore looked down at Snape's unconscious form. "Severus will be alright?" concern edged his soft voice.

"Yes, he will be fine if you stop distracting me with questions Albus!" Poppy stated.

A small smile graced Dumbledore's face.

"Come, Annalyse. Let's go to my office and have some tea and sherbet lemons." With that he motioned for her to follow him out of the hospital wing.

Casting another worried glance at Snape and Madam Pomfrey who was removing his robes so she could see the wound in his side better, Anna followed Dumbledore reluctantly out of the Hospital Wing.


	11. Practical Progress Part 3

Disclaimer: Yet again, I do not own anything related to Harry Potter, it all belongs to the wonderful J.K Rowling. Also, the title of this story comes from a song by Paul Oakenfold, something that I didn't know until just recently so I don't own that either. I do own a very annoying Siamese cat though, so there.

**Chapter 11: Practical Progress Part 3**

"Take a seat, my dear." Dumbledore walked around his large desk to sit down in his own elaborate chair as Anna sat down slowly in the ornate chair he had indicated.

Once she had sat down she tucked her hair behind her ear before folding her slender hands in her lap. It wasn't long before she started twisting the material of her robes in her hands nervously.

"Would you care for a cup of tea?" Dumbledore asked as Anna looked around at the snoring portraits of Hogwarts past Headmasters and Headmistresses that graced the walls of Dumbledore's office. Though she suspected that not all of them were truly sleeping.

"Oh, yes, thankyou." She replied absently.

Snape was hurt, and hurt badly it seemed. What had happened? Who had done this to him? Anger flared inside her, anger directed towards whoever had hurt him so.

Just thinking of Snape lying hurt and motionless in the dark Hospital Wing with only Poppy for company made Anna's heart ache.

Accepting the offered cup of tea from Dumbledore, she took a small sip and closed her eyes.

When she opened her eyes, Dumbledore, who had been watching her carefully, knew his suspicions had been confirmed when he met her gaze.

The old professor sighed.

"Annalyse, could you please tell me what happened tonight?" Dumbledore asked softly.

Cradling her teacup in her hands, Anna gazed into its depths as she told Dumbledore about the patrol.

" – Then I heard a bang – " she stopped, the noises! How could she have forgotten about them?

"A bang?" Dumbledore asked.

"Yes…I had forgotten about that, I don't know what it was. There was more than one though." She looked up apologetically at Dumbledore. "Just after the bangs, I ran into Professor Snape," she left out the fact that they had _literally_ run into each other. "That was when something seemed to hurt him, he clutched his left arm I think before saying he had work to do and leaving." Anna lifted her teacup and took a slow sip.

Dumbledore nodded solemnly.

"What happened then?"

"Well, er…" Anna avoided his gaze.

"You followed Severus." He said calmly.

"Well, I tried to. I lost him quickly and ended up wandering the corridors for quite some time." Anna gave the Headmaster a very small nervous smile.

"It is alright. Please continue."

So Anna told him of going to the Entrance Hall a while later, Snape stumbling in injured, how he had wanted to speak to the Headmaster and then taking him to the Hospital Wing. When she had finished, Dumbledore placed his teacup down on the desktop and leant back slightly in his chair with a weary sigh.

"Albus?"

Dumbledore gazed at Anna from behind his half moon glasses.

"Yes, Annalyse?"

Anna returned her gaze to her teacup for a moment.

"He _will_ be alright, won't he?" she raised her head slightly to look at Dumbledore.

"Severus is strong and I have complete faith in Poppy. I'm sure he will be fine." Dumbledore pushed his teacup to one side and folded his arms on the desktop.

"Oh, good." She paused for a moment. "I don't know why I'm so concerned over him. I mean I was furious with him this afternoon and he hasn't exactly been kind to me, always scowling and snapping at me." She said quickly as Dumbledore watched her in silence.

"Are you sure you don't know?" the old professor asked quietly.

Anna opened her mouth to reply that she had no idea why she felt like this, but stopped. She did know why she felt like this, well, she figured she did.

Dumbledore nodded as he saw the realisation in her eyes.

"You care for Severus, Annalyse. More than most people. I had my suspicions…" he gave her a kind smile.

"I…I do." Anna said slowly as if she had just understood the meaning of those words. "I do care for him." She said again as she carefully placed her teacup on the desk.

Dumbledore reached forwards slightly and covered one of her hands with his.

"Annalyse, I understand that this a big matter for you to grasp, for you to fully understand your feelings towards Severus will take time. As it is," the Headmaster paused for a moment. "As it is, I had hoped that Severus would have been able to tell you this, but under the current circumstances I believe you need to know now."

"What are you talking about Albus?" Anna watched him curiously.

"Annalyse, promise me that you will think carefully about what I tell you. Promise me that you will not abandon him due to the opinions of others." Dumbledore took one of her hands in his as he spoke.

"Abandon him? You mean Severus?"

Dumbledore nodded.

"What? Why would I – " Dumbledore cut her off.

"Promise me, Annalyse. Please."

"Alright, Albus. I promise." What was he talking about? Why would she 'abandon' Severus? She had only just confirmed what she had been feeling towards him these past months, why would she feel any different about him after Dumbledore had spoken to her?

"I know the reason behind Severus' disappearance and injuries, Annalyse." He said gravely.

"You do? What happened? Who – " Dumbledore held up a hand to silence her.

"I do, but it will be better to start from the beginning I think. Would you care for another cup of tea before I start?" he asked her gently. Anna waved his offer away.

"Please, tell me what happened Albus!" curiosity and impatience sounded in her quiet voice as she focused her attention upon the Headmaster, not even noticing that some of the portraits had woken up and were watching her with gloomy eyes.

"Alright."

So Dumbledore told Anna about Severus Snape.

The minutes ticked by unnoticed by the two as Dumbledore reached the part he knew would shatter Anna, all he could hope for was that she would be able to pick up the pieces.

"When Severus left Hogwarts, he fell under the influence of powerful wizards. Including his father. I cannot lie and say that none of it was Severus' choosing but I do know that he regrets his choice every minute of his life." Dumbledore sighed slightly as his blue eyes met Anna's. "Severus became a Death Eater."

Whatever Anna had been expecting, it wasn't that.

As she went rigid with shock, disbelief coursed through her body.

Severus Snape a Death Eater? Ok, so he wasn't the nicest man alive, but he couldn't be…

Even as she tried to grasp reasons for it to be a lie, she knew deep inside that it was the truth.

It explained far too much, his absences from the school, the mistrust directed towards him by Michael and the students, his sudden disappearance tonight, his left arm…

His left arm…the Dark Mark!

"No…it – it can't be true." Anna stared at Dumbledore in shock. She removed her hand from his gentle grip.

"I am afraid it is true, but let me continue – "

Anna stood up so quickly she almost knocked her chair over.

"No!" anger was replacing the shock and disbelief. She wasn't sure who the anger was directed towards: Dumbledore, Snape, herself…

"He can't be, he can't be one of _them!_" Anna clenched her hands into fists, her knuckles showing white.

"Annalyse, please, you have to understand – "

"Understand? Oh I understand! Understand that he most probably tortured, murdered and God knows what else!" Anger sparked in her blue eyes as she snapped at the old professor and as she did so, a thought occurred to her.

"Eric. Was he part of the attack on Eric?" she asked quietly, her voice shaking with barely controlled anger as she tried to calm down.

"I honestly do not know Annalyse. It is something you will have to ask him for yourself." Dumbledore rose from his seat as he saw the anger flare in Anna's eyes again.

"Ask him? Oh, hello Professor Snape, I was just wondering if you were one of the Death Eaters who tortured my brother into madness!" Anna was now sounding slightly hysterical. The thought of Snape torturing Eric was too much for her as memories of that attack were dragged up from the depths of her mind.

Dumbledore swiftly walked around his desk and over to Anna, whose eyes were shining with barely suppressed tears.

Everything had just been too much for Anna today, the argument in the Headmaster's office, the patrol, Snape's injuries and now this. Her emotions were going haywire.

"I just…it can't…" Anna began to tremble slightly, both from exhaustion and her emotions.

Dumbledore looked at the young professor in sympathy before wrapping his arms around her in comfort.

That display of comfort broke what was left of Anna's strength and she cried into Dumbledore's red and gold robe.

After a few minutes, Anna had calmed down somewhat and Dumbledore led her back to her chair.

Producing a bright purple handkerchief from one of his pockets, Dumbledore handed it to Anna as she sat down.

"Thank you." She murmured.

"Annalyse, I know that this has been a great shock for you, but you don't know the complete story." Dumbledore stood beside her chair as he spoke.

Anna wiped the tears from her face and blew her nose rather loudly. She was glad that there were no mirrors nearby; she knew she must look awful. Some people could look beautiful when they cried; Anna wasn't one of them. She always ended up red and blotchy when she cried.

"The complete story?" what else did he have to tell her?

"Yes. Will you allow me to continue?"

"Yes, yes, of course."

"Severus _was_ a Death Eater. He stayed with them long enough to become part of Voldemort's – " Anna flinched " – inner circle. I cannot tell you what sort of 'activities' he was involved in, that is for him to tell you if he chooses to. But it wasn't long after he became part of the inner circle that he came to me for help." Dumbledore moved back over to his chair and sat down.

"Severus and I had a long discussion, the details of which I do not wish to disclose right now." He looked at Anna from over the top of his glasses.

"I understand." She said quickly.

"Since the punishment for deserting Voldemort – " Anna flinched again " – is death, Severus agreed to turn spy."

"Spy?"

"Yes, Severus passed useless information about Hogwarts and the Ministry of Magic to Voldemort – " Dumbledore gave her a stern look as she flinched yet again at the sound of the Dark Lord's name. " – while in reality he was collecting _useful_ information for us. He managed to convince Voldemort – " Anna managed not to flinch this time " - and the Death Eaters that he was indeed loyal to them when in fact he wasn't. When Harry Potter brought about Voldemort's defeat, Severus was captured by the Ministry and put on trial. He ended up cleared of all charges, but there are very few who trust him now. Most seem to believe that the trial was manipulated and that Severus belongs in Azkaban." Dumbledore smiled sadly.

"When Voldemort and the Death Eaters who had managed to escape being sent to Azkaban returned, Severus, at great risk to his life, resumed his role as spy."

Anna's eyes widened slightly.

"So that's why he left tonight!"

Dumbledore nodded.

"Yes, apparently Voldemort called his Death Eaters to him tonight, something I hadn't expected to happen."

"Then it was You-Know-Who who hurt him so?" Anna asked quietly.

Dumbledore nodded again.

"Obviously something happened to displease Voldemort. I will have to wait until Severus regains consciousness before I can find out exactly what happened." Dumbledore looked at Anna intently. "Annalyse, for everyone's safety, especially Severus', I must ask you not to speak a word of this to anyone."

"Of course, Albus." She replied, twisting the bright purple handkerchief in her hands as she rose from her chair. Dumbledore followed suit.

"Do you have any questions Annalyse?" his blue eyes searched hers. She gave him a sad smile.

"Many, but I don't think you can answer them."

"Of course. Well, remember that I am always here if you wish to talk Annalyse. And please, remember your promise." He smiled softly at her as he escorted her to the office door. "You're a smart woman Annalyse, don't let others sway your judgement. Keep it." He said as she held the handkerchief out to him.

Brushing some stray strands of hair from her eyes, Anna gave him a nod before moving to leave the office. She paused for a moment though and turned back to face him.

"I do have one question you could answer though,"

"Yes?"

"If you know that he is, _was_, a Death Eater, why do you let him teach here? Why do you believe that he is on our side?" she asked curiously.

Dumbledore met her gaze and replied simply:

"Because I trust him."


	12. Nefarious Nights

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing. Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling and the title of this story belongs to song by Paul Oakenfold.

**Chapter 12: Nefarious Nights**

The Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom door shut with a slam.

Michael stalked over to the front of the classroom, a frown on his face. Stopping beside the large mahogany desk, he slammed a fist down upon the wooden surface.

Dumbledore had been right about Anna, she did possess a temper and was quite capable of making her own decisions. She wasn't quite the pushover he had thought she was.

Michael roughly pulled his chair out and sat down. He had not listened to Dumbledore and because of his arrogance, Anna had rejected him.

His plans were broken.

He rested his elbow on the desk, his chin in his hand as the fingers of his other hand idly drummed on the glossy surface of the desk.

He liked Anna, he really did.

She was vital to him.

And she had rejected him.

A scowl formed on his handsome face as he stood up again.

With his hands clasped behind his back, Michael paced the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom as thoughts paced across his mind. There was so much to do, so much to plan and time was running out. All that he had carefully set up so far had turned from a solid fortress into a precarious tower of cards, ready to topple and bury him at any moment.

"Bloody interfering wizards!" he snapped to the empty classroom as his thoughts turned towards Snape and Dumbledore. Why had Dumbledore paired Anna with that greasy git?

Michael had seen Anna watching the moody Potions Master on more than one occasion. Had seen the way she smiled at him. Had seen the way she always tried to strike up a conversation. Michael unclasped his hands and clenched them into fists.

What on earth did that overgrown bat have that he didn't have?

He was interrupted from these thoughts by the classroom door opening and the second year Gryffindors filing in for their lesson.

He would just have to keep an eye on Anna and Snape.

A close eye.

**------------------------------------**

With a flick of his wand, Michael returned his textbooks to their proper shelves. The lesson was over, finally. The time had seemed to drag by while he taught the empty-headed second year Gryffindors.

"And they say _I'm_ arrogant." He snorted.

Half the class had forgotten their books, hence why he had had to use his, and the other half had forgotten their essays, which were due today. Though, his anger towards them would most probably guarantee that they wouldn't forget again.

Walking past the rows of desks and chairs, Michael paused a moment before the door.

He rested one hand upon the doorknob and took a moment to compose himself. He couldn't go down to dinner in a such a flaming bad mood.

Taking a deep breath he opened the door and headed out into the hallway. With another flick of his wand, the classroom door was locked and he was walking towards the Great Hall.

As he walked, his hands in the pockets of his neat black pants, he strayed into his thoughts again. It looked like he would be spending the last week of term re-planning.

"Michael!"

He looked up and gave a false smile to Minerva McGonagall.

"Good evening, Minerva."

The old witch inclined her head.

"You're running a bit late for dinner tonight." She commented.

Michael just shrugged and hoped she would move, since she was blocking the way into the Great Hall.

"You haven't seen Annalyse have you? I was hoping to have a word with her." McGonagall peered at the young Defence Against the Dark Arts professor from behind her glasses.

"No, can't say I have."

"Oh. I will have to speak to her tomorrow then."

It wasn't a question, so Michael smiled falsely at her again and managed to walk past her and into the Great Hall.

Dinner passed without event. Michael engaged himself in idle conversation with the professors next to him, even though his mind was elsewhere. Every now and then he would cast a glance towards the other end of the table where Snape was moodily staring at his food. Every time he looked at Snape for just a second too long, the dark professor would raise his black eyes to meet Michael's hazel ones.

Thankfully that only happened twice. Michael found it hard to withstand that intimidating gaze.

With dinner finished, the students returned to their dormitories and common rooms whilst the teachers moved off to their own rooms. Michael bade goodnight to Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall and quickly headed off to his own rooms.

Moonlight filtered through his bedroom window as Michael moved around the small room, a book in one hand. He had no intentions of going to bed just yet.

Checking his watch, a cold smile flickered across his features. Anna and Snape's patrol was due to start in half an hour and he was going to join them.

Not that they would know that of course.

Carelessly throwing the book he held down upon his bed, Michael cast another look at his watch. He should get going, Snape and Anna were to patrol the second and third floor tonight and it would take at least fifteen minutes to get there, more if he had to evade ghosts and any other professors.

He exited his rooms cautiously and quietly, murmuring the spell to lock his door before slowly walking down the corridor. With his wand in one hand, the young professor kept to the shadows that lined the corridor. He didn't want to be seen unless it was absolutely necessary. After all, his patrol was tomorrow night and he didn't want to be faced with any interfering questions from the occupants of the castle.

Michael walked down the corridors and hallways of the castle, moving silently past snoring portraits and suits of armour. Snape and Anna should have started their patrol long before now; all he had to do was find them.

Time passed in its unhurried way as he walked, the moon casting the only light. He didn't dare light his wand in case it woke the portraits.

"I suggest we split up."

Michael paused at the sound of Snape's voice. The two professors were just around the corner. He looked carefully around the corner to see the dark form of Snape disappearing down one fork in the corridor while Anna muttered and headed down the right side corridor.

_So, they've split up._

A smirk spread its way across Michael's mouth.

Should he follow Snape or Anna though?

The smirk turned into a frown as he turned this thought over in his mind. Which would work to his advantage better?

Anna was angry with him and Snape was, well, he was just angry with everyone.

As Michael stood in the shadows, mulling over his thoughts, he failed to notice the arrival of a certain poltergeist. Peeves, however, noticed the professor.

"What's this ickle professor doing? Lurking in the shadows is he?" Peeves cackled.

Michael whipped his head up to look at the poltergeist that was floating, cross-legged, in the air above him.

"Not now Peeves!" Michael hissed.

Peeves just grinned wickedly at the professor.

"I mean it Peeves!" Michael warned, his eyes darting around the corridor.

"Aw, doesn't the little professor want to play with Peevesy?" Peeves cackled loudly and proceeded to swoop around the corridor, banging his fists against the frames of the sleeping portraits.

"Huh?" yawned one portrait.

"We're trying to sleep here!" snapped another sleepy portrait occupant.

Michael raised his wand and shot a spell at Peeves, hoping to scare the poltergeist off before anyone could hear the large amount of noise Peeves was making. The spell missed though and instead of hitting the poltergeist, it hit one of the portraits with a loud _bang_.

"Hey!"

"What do you think you're doing?"

"Watch it!"

Were the yells of various portraits, including the one Michael's spell had hit. The frightened maid, the occupant of the unfortunate portrait, had managed to exit her frame and was now hiding behind a group of sleepy monks.

Michael ignored the portraits and cast another spell at Peeves. Again it missed and hit the sleeping suit of armour that stood by the forked corridor. Another loud _bang_ and the armour fell to the ground with a crash.

Peeves snickered at Michael, blew a raspberry at the professor and disappeared through a wall.

By this point, Michael could hear the distinct sound of people running in his direction.

Muttering angrily, he looked around the corridor quickly. Spying a large tapestry depicting a group of women picking flowers, Michael hurried over to the tapestry and pulled it to one side, hoping that there was some sort of hidden passageway behind it.

A smile flickered across his features as he slipped into the dark passageway and pulled the tapestry back into place.

Crouched in the dark passageway, he listened intently to the voices of Anna and Snape. They seemed to be arguing.

"You're the one who ran straight into me!"

"You're the one who wasn't looking where you were going." Came the snapping sound of Snape.

"Oh really? I beg to differ!" Michael heard Anna snap right back at him.

There was silence for a few moments, and just as Michael was thinking about peering out from his hiding place, he heard Anna speak.

"Professor Snape? Are you ok?"

A frown graced Michael's features. What was wrong with Snape?

"I have some work to attend to. I suggest you return to your rooms." Came Snape's snarling reply as his footsteps began to fade away down the corridor.

"But, Professor Snape…"

Michael's frown remained as he listened to the conversation between the two professors. Neither of them seemed to have noticed the disgruntled portraits or the dismantled suit of armour.

A few more moments of silence passed before Michael heard Anna's footsteps retreating down the corridor as well.

Climbing out from behind the tapestry, Michael looked up and down the corridor.

Something had happened to Snape and Michael was determined to find out what. He was disturbed from this train of thought though by a voice behind him.

"Are you going to apologise or not?"

Michael looked behind him to the portrait of the monks where the frightened maid was still hiding.

He sneered at the portrait and swept off in the direction of his rooms. With the amount of noise Peeves had created, he was left in little doubt that someone other than Snape and Anna had heard and was rushing towards this very spot.

He would have to wait to find out what had happened.


	13. Bedside Banter

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or anything related to Harry Potter. I own some nice merchandise though… I also don't own the story title, it belongs to Paul Oakenfold. 

**Chapter 13: Bedside Banter**

Sunlight seeped through the bedroom window, casting a warm golden glow onto the pale form of Anna as she lay, wide awake, in her small bed.

A headache had woken her up from a fitful sleep about an hour or so before sunrise. A headache most probably caused by the events of yesterday and the fact that she had cried herself to sleep.

As the light hit her eyes, she threw the covers to one side and slowly moved to sit on the edge of the bed, her head lowered and her hair obscuring her face from view.

Slowly she rose and made her way into the small bathroom, shivering as her bare feet touched the cold stone floor.

"My, are you alright my dear?" The old mirror above the basin asked as Anna splashed cold water on her face.

"I don't know." She said quietly as she gazed at her reflection. Her plain blue eyes were bloodshot, her small nose slightly red from having to blow it so much when she was crying and her face looked tired and pale, causing the dusting of freckles across her nose to stand out more than usual.

"You do look dreadful, are you sick?" the mirror inquired.

"I don't know." Anna said again as she left the bathroom, closing the door behind her. She just wasn't in the mood for a conversation, especially with a mirror.

Anna was indeed thankful that it was a Saturday. It meant that she didn't have to venture from her rooms to face everyone in the castle.

With this in mind, she dressed comfortably in an old black skirt and a dark blue jumper that, despite the large hole in one sleeve and the loose thread along the hem, she refused to throw away as it was entirely too comfortable and the last thing her grandmother had made for her. Still feeling the cold, she pulled her blue robes on as well.

Anna busied herself with small tasks: brushing and plaiting her hair, making the bed and generally tidying up. Anything to keep her busy and her mind off of last night.

Finding nothing else to do, Anna selected a book from the bookcase and curled up in the armchair situated in one corner of her rooms.

The hours slipped away, but still Anna remained in her rooms. The sounds of the students enjoying their weekend could be heard outside her door, but Anna had no desire to join them. Instead she chose another book and returned to her reading.

After a while of reading the same line over and over again, she set her book to one side and carefully stood up, her muscles protesting against movement. Stretching her arms above her head, she entered her office through the open connecting doorway.

Rolls of parchment were stacked on her desk, homework she had yet to mark. Selecting one, she unrolled it and glanced at the essay title.

"_Earth' moon and its connection to magic. By Hermione Granger"_

Anna grimaced and replaced the parchment on her desk. She was not in the right frame of mind for marking essays, especially one such as Hermione's. No doubt she had written twice the amount Anna had asked for.

Just as Anna was considering returning to her book, there was a knock on her office door. She closed her eyes, hoping whoever it was would go away.

"Annalyse?" came the voice of Professor Sprout.

"Annalyse, we know you are in there." Anna groaned as she heard McGonagall's voice.

Making her way slowly towards the door, she opened it just enough to look out at the two professors.

"Yes?" she asked. As much as she liked the two, she just was not in the mood for company.

"Oh, Annalyse! We thought that there might have been something wrong since you weren't at breakfast." Sprout looked up at Anna.

"Or lunch." McGonagall added. "Are you alright?"

"You're not sick are you? You look quite ill." Concern flickered in Sprout's eyes.

"Er, yes, I really don't feel well. I figured rest would be the best medicine." Anna lied, thinking that they might leave her alone if they believed she was ill.

"Oh dear! If you're ill you should go see Poppy!"

"No, really, it's not that bad." Anna said to Sprout.

"Nonsense! It's Poppy's job to tend to the sick and injured." McGonagall stated, eyeing Anna from behind her glasses.

"No, I'm fine, really I am – "

"Nonsense!" McGonagall repeated and before Anna could protest more, she found herself being firmly led through the castle's corridors towards the Hospital Wing by the two older professors.

Stopping before the Hospital Wing's open doors, Sprout smiled up at Anna.

"Poppy will have you feeling better in no time, Annalyse." The Herbology professor gave her a pat on the arm. McGonagall gave Anna a gentle push into the large room, speaking softly so that Sprout wouldn't hear.

"You will have to face him sometime."

Anna looked at her sharply. McGonagall gave her a sad smile before following Sprout to the Great Hall.

Anna sighed. So McGonagall knew about what happened last night. Perhaps she could just sneak back to her rooms…

"Ah, Annalyse! Are you here to see Severus?" Poppy Pomfrey bustled over to the young professor.

"Er, apparently." Anna gave her a weak smile. Poppy nodded.

"Yes, he's right over here," Poppy beckoned for her to follow as she walked down the rows of beds. "It's nice that you have come to visit him, Albus has been the only one." Poppy spoke quietly as they neared a bed surrounded by white curtains, hiding the occupant from view.

Poppy gave her a smile before disappearing into her office.

Anna glanced around the empty Hospital Wing before she focused her attention back onto the curtains. Behind those curtains was the man she had come to care for. The man who had been a Death Eater, a murderer, a torturer and quite possibly the man who had destroyed her brother's mind.

Anger began to rise inside of her again and her hands clenched into fists for a moment. Raising one hand she parted the curtains and slipped inside.

The anger Anna felt melted away the moment she saw Snape.

He lay on the bed, completely still except for the gentle rise and fall of his chest. He was still wearing his clothes from the other night, though his robes were draped over a nearby chair. The black only served to enhance the white of his face.

Anna edged closer to the bed.

His arms rested by his sides and a few wayward strands of his black hair cut dark lines across his face, his face that looked pale but relaxed.

Anna absently bit her bottom lip as she looked down at Snape. He seemed to still be unconscious.

Her fingers itched to touch him and brush those wayward strands of hair off of his face. She watched him for a moment longer before giving in.

Slowly she raised her hand, her fingers gently touching his cool skin as she carefully brushed the hair away from his closed eyes. Her hand lingered upon his pale cheek as a ghost of a smile played upon her lips.

A hand closed upon her wrist in a vice-like grip.

Anna gave a small yelp of surprise.

"Just what, precisely, are you doing Professor Chambers?" Snape said as he opened his eyes and slowly sat up, still gripping her wrist.

"I – I thought you were still unconscious!"

"I _was_ sleeping. Now, kindly explain what you are doing?" he asked again in his icy voice.

"Nothing! I mean, I was just – " she frowned and wrenched her hand from his grip. "I guess I came to see if you were alright." She rubbed her wrist with her other hand.

"You guess?" he sneered.

"Yes, I guess, since it was McGonagall and Sprout who dragged me here." She glared at him, her anger returning. "Personally, I would've been more than happy to have stayed in my rooms and never laid eyes on you again." She snapped.

"Oh really?" he drawled.

"Yes, really!" she snapped again.

"And why would that be, Professor Chambers?" he asked, a sneer playing upon his pale lips again.

Anna glared at the man before her, her temper rising.

"Well, you haven't exactly been civil towards me, Professor Snape, so I find it hard to be overly concerned about your welfare." Even as she spoke she knew that was a lie. Despite the anger she directed towards him, she _was_ concerned about his welfare.

"Then I suggest you cease wasting your time here. I do not require yours, or anyone else's, company." He hissed.

Anna opened her mouth to retaliate but she was cut off as Madam Pomfrey opened the curtains that surrounded the small bed.

"Ah, Severus! Your awake!" the elderly matron smiled at the two professors, completely oblivious to the death glares the two were shooting at each other. "Annalyse, I'm afraid I will have to ask you to leave. Severus needs to take his potion." Poppy's smile wavered slightly as she saw the look upon Anna's face.

"That's fine, Poppy. I was just leaving." Anna snapped before turning on her heel and marching out of the Hospital Wing, the doors slamming behind her.

"My! What was all that about?" Poppy looked from the closed doors to Snape and back again.

Casting a dark glance in the direction of the closed doors, Snape ignored the matron's question and instead plucked the small, blue potion bottle from her hands and swallowed its contents.


	14. Substitute Squabbles Part 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter; if I did I wouldn't be writing fan fiction. Yeah. Think about it. I also don't own the story title, it belongs to Paul Oakenfold.

**Chapter 14: Substitute Squabbles Part 1**

Anna scowled at her food as she pushed it around the golden plate with her fork. All she had wanted was to return to her rooms, but she had unfortunately run into Sprout on her way.

The Herbology professor had then insisted she make an appearance at dinner, considering Anna had missed breakfast and lunch. So here she was in the Great Hall, thoroughly depressed and seated amongst the crowds of happily chattering students and professors.

Anna placed her fork down upon the table and pushed her plate away. Her gaze moved from the plate of uneaten food to the empty chair beside her.

_Bloody grumpy git_, she thought as she scowled at the Potions Master's unoccupied chair.

Why ever did she like him? All he did to her was snap and snarl. All they did together was fight. Yet she had feelings for him, despite all this and despite what Dumbledore had told her. Feelings she didn't quite want to acknowledge at the moment.

Anna frowned and shook her head slightly. As if anyone would want to admit they had feelings for him!

A sigh passed her lips.

It was all far too confusing at the moment.

She shifted her gaze down the staff table. Dumbledore was laughing at something Flitwick had just said, Hagrid appeared to be loudly discussing the finer points of caring for Fwoopers with Madam Hooch and Michael appeared to be lost in thought as he absently ate his food.

She watched Michael for a moment, wondering vaguely what he was thinking about.

Anna gave her head a little shake and returned her attention to the Great Hall where students were rising from their seats to return to their dormitories. The teachers were starting to rise from the table as well.

"Annalyse."

A voice stopped Anna as she was about to leave. Turning around she looked up at Dumbledore.

"Yes?"

The old wizard smiled softly at her.

"I was wondering if I could ask a favour of you,"

"Of course, Albus."

He nodded.

"Severus must remain in the Hospital Wing for a few more days. Since you have fewer classes than the other professors at the moment, I was hoping that you would be able to substitute the Potions classes until he is better. Normally I would ask for a substitute teacher to come to Hogwarts, but seeing how it is only for the last week of term…" He trailed off and smiled at her again.

Anna stared at the Headmaster for a moment. She had been ok at Potions when she had been a student, but would she be able to remember any of it now?

"It is just for one week Annalyse."

She gave the Headmaster a small smile.

"Alright, Albus."

"Thank you Annalyse. Now go get some rest." He gave her a friendly pat on the shoulder and the two left the Great Hall.

---------------------------------

Sunday passed in a haze for Anna. She spent the entire day in her office, something that was both good and bad in her opinion. Good because she managed to evade the other professors, two in particular, and bad because she had to read dozens of essays on the Earth's moon, a task that made it quite difficult to stay awake after the tenth essay.

She even managed to dig up a few old Potions textbooks in the library to refresh her memory for the coming week's classes. As Sunday drew to a close, she felt fairly confident that she would be able to bluff her way through most of Snape's classes.

Anna awoke Monday morning to a rather dull day, the snow falling gently outside her bedroom window to settle on the sill in sugar-like mounds. Rubbing her eyes, Anna rolled over in her bed and yawned. Monday… Monday… there was something she was meant to do today…

"Aw heck!"

She had to substitute Snape's Potions classes!

Anna practically flew out of bed and into the bathroom, ignoring the mirror's annoyed comment at being woken so early. In a blur of water and clothes, Anna was out the door and tugging her robes on over her dress as she ran towards the dungeons.

"The students are normally the late ones, not the professors!" she muttered to herself as she ran down the halls, passing startled ghosts and students.

Anna ran down a flight of stairs, two at a time, to reach the dungeon Potions classroom and came to a skidding stop at the heavy wooden door. Panting, she leant against the cold stone wall to catch her breath and compose herself before entering the classroom.

Tucking stray strands of her wet hair behind her ears, she pushed on the heavy wooden door and stepped into the classroom.

"Good mor – "she paused in the doorway and looked around, puzzled.

There were no students.

The dungeon was empty.

Confused, Anna put her hands on her hips as she gazed around at the empty tables and chairs. "I could have sworn…" she frowned and then gasped as an icy sensation ran through her body, announcing the arrival of Sir Nicholas.

"Do pardon the intrusion, but I noticed you running through the hallways in quite a rush," Sir Nicholas said as he floated around the dungeon "I thought I might let you know that the first of today's Potions classes is not until after lunch."

Anna stared at the ghost.

"Oh." Was all she said.

"Yes, well, good luck then." Sir Nicholas gave her a smile before disappearing through one of the stone walls.

"Thank you!" Anna called out after him.

_No class until after lunch_. Anna poked her tongue out, feeling quite the idiot for not checking the timetable Dumbledore had given her on Sunday. With a shrug and a sigh, she looked around the dark, dingy room and crinkled her nose in disgust.

"_This_ is the kind of place he teaches in!" her gaze fell on the jars lined up on shelves containing things she would rather not name and the dead plants in the corner. Her nose crinkled again at the smell of various 'exotic' potion ingredients, a smell which seemed to have seeped into every available surface and corner of the classroom.

"If his office is anything like this, he could certainly use a woman's touch." Rolling up the sleeves of her robes, Anna drew out her wand. "He hasn't even got any Christmas decorations!"

She walked around the stone classroom, wand at the ready. "Well, I've got some time to spare I guess." With a slight smile on her face, Anna got to work on giving the Potions classroom a makeover.

Anna worked on the classroom throughout lunch, barely noticing the growls emanating from her empty stomach. When she started decorating the shelves containing the jars of suspicious objects, she decided that it was probably a good idea that she hadn't eaten.

"What possible use could anyone have for these things?" she muttered to herself as she conjured thick strands of green and gold tinsel to hide the jars from view. A thick green wreath decorated the classroom door, tinsel in various colours hung in thick strands across the shelves around the room and a small Christmas tree stood in a corner behind the teacher's desk. Anna had even been to visit Professor Flitwick and borrowed some of his fairy lights.

All the decorations made the room far more inviting, and the golden candles that were scattered everywhere certainly made the dungeon feel warmer and happier.

"A bit of Christmas cheer sure does make a difference." Anna smiled to herself as she tucked her wand away and gazed around the room. Even she felt happier now, not at all angry or depressed anymore from the visit to the Hospital Wing the other day.

"Wow!"

A group of third year students were just filing into the classroom. All of them were looking around in surprise.

"Look at the lights!"

"And the tinsel!"

"Professor Snape never puts up decorations!"

The excited third years took their seats and Anna couldn't help but grin at them.

"Just don't tell Professor Snape!" Anna told them as they got out their quills and parchment. She fully intended to have the classroom back to normal before Snape returned, since he probably wouldn't take too well to the 'Christmas cheer' she had created. And so, with a smile on her face, Anna began the first of the week's Potion classes.


	15. Substitute Squabbles Part 2

Disclaimer: You know the drill. I don't own Harry Potter or anything to do with Harry Potter other than some nice merchandise. I also don't own the story title, it belongs to Paul Oakenfold. 

**Chapter 15: Substitute Squabbles Part 2**

The week of extra classes had taken its toll on Anna by the time Friday came around. The combination of early Potions and late Astronomy classes had Anna dragging her feet and smothering yawns as she headed back down to the dungeons after lunch.

_Last class_¸ she thought happily. After this week she was definitely looking forward to the Christmas break. At least she had been spared from the nightly patrols, what with Snape being in the Hospital Wing and her being far too worn out to be of any use.

"Good afternoon class."

The group of fourth year Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs stopped their chatter and chorused "Good afternoon, Professor."

Anna smiled at them as she shut the heavy classroom door behind her.

The rest of the afternoon passed quickly, with few mishaps. After the first few classes that had resulted in three exploding cauldrons, one melted cauldron and several trips to the Hospital Wing, Anna had eventually remembered enough from her own time as a Potions student to get by adequately in the remaining classes. Apparently, Potions was still not a strong point of hers.

As the last of the chattering students left the classroom, Anna replaced a jar of dragonfly wings upon a nearby shelf with one hand and covered her mouth with the other to hide yet another yawn. She was quite worn out by the week's activities.

Taking a seat behind the large, wooden desk at the front of the classroom, she began to rummage through her piles of parchments and open Potions books.

During the week Anna had been running around the castle giving out Christmas presents to some of the other professors. Still, she had a few left to be delivered, including a new pair of dragon hide gloves for Sprout and variety of sweets (including sherbet lemons) for the Headmaster.

One of the remaining presents she now pulled out from beneath a stack of parchments. It was a long, thin box wrapped in bright Christmas paper. Anna toyed with it in her hands for a moment, trying to make a decision.

"Oh why not." She murmured placing it on the desk in front of her. Folding her arms on the desktop, she rested her head on them and stared at the package for a bit longer as her mind wandered and the light from the golden candles danced around the dungeon.

Before Anna knew it, she was fast asleep at Snape's desk.

Half an hour later, the classroom door swung open almost silently. Snape had barely taken two steps into his classroom before he froze, a scowl twisting his features.

Tinsel.

Fairy lights.

Holly.

Candles.

Dark eyes flickered over each of the bright and cheerful Christmas decorations that defiled his classroom, his scowl worsening all the while.

Finally, his eyes came to rest upon the sleeping form of Annalyse Chambers. Sleeping at _his_ desk, which was also strewn untidily with pieces of parchment and books, some of which had been pushed onto the floor as Anna moved in her sleep.

With stiff steps that conveyed his anger, Snape approached the desk in order to wake the disrespectful professor and get her out of his classroom as soon as possible.

Yet he paused.

Staring down at the sleeping woman, he couldn't help watching her for a moment. Her brown hair had escaped its plait once more and fell across her arms and back in soft waves, which rose and fell with her gentle breathing. A soft murmur escaped her lips as she shifted slightly and her slender hands curled into gentle fists.

The Potions Master felt his anger ebbing slightly as he watched her peaceful form. Slightly, but not enough to stop him from waking her up.

Placing his hands on the desk, he leant down towards her until he was close to her ear.

"Do explain what you have done to my classroom." He growled into her ear.

Anna woke with a start, almost hitting Snape in the nose as her head shot up and she fell backwards off the chair and onto the floor.

"Ouch!"

Snape raised an eyebrow as Anna untangled herself from the chair and knelt on the ground, only just realising what woke her.

"Professor Snape!"

"That is not the answer I require."

"What?" Anna was rubbing the back of her head as she tried to work out why she had been asleep in the first place and how long he had been there.

Snape slid around the desk with slow, deliberate steps as a sneer played on his face.

"What have you done to my classroom?" he said in a soft, yet dangerous, voice. His robes swirled around his ankles as he came to a stop before Anna's kneeling form.

_Oh dear._ Anna licked her lips nervously. She had meant to take the decorations down before he got back!

"Oh, well," she stammered in his towering presence.

"I'm waiting." He hissed.

Anna stood up slowly, maybe he wouldn't seem quite so intimidating if she stood… or maybe she just wanted to be able to run if the need arose.

"Well… I just thought the students would like – "

He cut her off.

"It does not matter what the students like"

"It's just a few Christmas décor – "

"Which are not required nor are they wanted!" he spat at her, his dark eyes flashing in anger. How dare she desecrate _his_ classroom with this pointless Christmas cheer?

Anna looked up to meet his angry gaze.

"Well some people happen to _enjoy_ Christmas!" she snapped back at him, her temper rising as she placed her hands on her hips. "Just because you're a damn grumpy git doesn't mean the rest of us have to miss out!"

Immediately she knew that was the probably the last thing she should have said. Her mind screamed at her to run as fire flared in his eyes and he took a step closer to her. Anna took a few steps back.

"Oh really?" he hissed softly as he continued to walk towards her.

Anna felt her back hit the cold wall behind her. _Oh, well done_, her mind seemed to say as she realised she was pretty much cornered now in a highly festive dungeon with a highly annoyed Potions Master.

Even though her temper had dissolved and she was now feeling somewhat scared, she couldn't help notice her heart beat faster and her breath catch in her throat as he placed either hand alongside her head against the wall and leaned over her, his face incredibly close to hers.

"Next time I suggest you do miss out," Anna found herself trapped by those unfathomable eyes as he spoke. "You are here to teach. Not redecorate." He whispered coldly "Not that you can do either particularly well."

She broke free from his gaze and squashing the strange desire to pull him closer, Anna pushed him away from her with all her might. Snape stumbled backwards, surprise flicking across his face. Anna's blue eyes flashed.

"That's it! I've done nothing but try to be nice to you, to try and be a friend. Obviously that's a concept _you_ don't understand!" Her hands clenched into tight fists by her sides.

Snape recovered quickly from his surprise and hissed back at her.

"Get out of my classroom!"

"Merlin forbid anyone should ever do something nice for you! I certainly know I never will again!" Anna snarled before marching towards the door.

"Get out!" Snape roared at her.

Anna picked up the gaily wrapped package from his desk and paused long enough to hurl it at Snape's face and shout "Cold-hearted bastard!" before walking out, the heavy door slamming shut behind her.

Snape stared at the wooden door that was quivering on its hinges before turning his attention to the package lying on the floor. Rubbing his cheek where it had connected with his face, he bent down and picked it up with the other hand. He had half a mind to crush the thin package in his fist. Something stopped him however, and he threw it down onto the surface of the desk instead.

Picking up the fallen chair, he sat down still seething with anger and glared at the slightly dented package. It was a few long minutes before his anger began to dissolve.

He frowned at the cheerily wrapped box for a long while before reaching out with pale hands to rip the present open. He paused a moment before lifting the lid of the box and peering inside.

Lying within was a silver-tipped raven's feather quill and a small card with a picture of a dancing snowman on it. He picked the quill up and examined it for a moment before placing it on the desk and looking at the card.

_Professor Snape,_

_I hope you're feeling better and that you enjoy the holidays._

_Merry Christmas!_

_Professor Chambers_

He felt a strange sensation in his chest as he held that little Christmas card in his hand. Glancing towards the door, he leant against the desk and bowed his head; dark strands of hair falling down into his eyes. He sighed and closed his fist around the card. He didn't quite know what was wrong, but the feeling in his chest…

"…Annalyse…"


	16. Furious Feelings

**Disclaimer:** I wish I did but I don't. I don't own Harry Potter, JK Rowling does. I don't even own the story title, that belongs to Paul Oakenfold. However Anna and Michael are mine! -hugs them close- MINE!

**Chapter 16: Furious Feelings**

"That's it!"

The door flew open so hard it bounced back off the wall as Anna stomped into her office and through to the connecting bedroom.

"I've had it! I tried to be nice, but all I got in return was a snap and a snarl!" She threw a nearby book at her bed and kicked the comfy armchair as she continued to stomp around the room.

The ancient mirror in her bathroom chose that moment to speak up.

"Throwing a tantrum won't solve anything, dearie."

The murderous look Anna threw in the direction of the bathroom caused the mirror to cower in its elaborate frame and wisely refrain from any further comments about Anna's mood.

She flung the doors of her wardrobe open and began throwing clothes out, looking for her cloak.

"Annoying, arrogant, son of a – " Anna growled as she pulled a worn old cloak out and wrapped it roughly around her shoulders. With that, she stalked out of the room, slamming the door behind her. She needed to get out; she needed to get away from _him_.

Ignoring students, professors and ghosts alike, Anna made her way through the winding corridors and moving staircases until she reached the Entrance Hall. Pushing one of the giant doors open, she left the castle and headed out into the grounds, still fuming with anger.

The crisp winter air bit at her exposed hands and face as she stepped out into the softly falling snow, causing her to pull the cloak around her more tightly as she walked.

The snow had been falling softly for most of the day, adding to the white that already blanketed the grounds. The lake was frozen solid and the trees of the Forbidden Forest looked as though they had been dusted with sugar.

Even though the entire scene was quite beautiful, Anna just wasn't in the mood to appreciate it. She huffed angrily and continued to trudge through the snow covered grounds, heading in no particular direction.

"Insufferable git." She muttered crossly, kicking at the snow. What had she been thinking? How could she have even remotely had feelings for him? As she had stated, quite clearly, he was nothing more than a cold-hearted bastard. These thoughts made Anna snort in annoyance.

She continued thinking in this manner for quite some time, taking her anger out on the snow until she reached the edge of the frozen lake. With a sigh she looked up at the grey sky, snow falling delicately onto her face and hair. By now she had managed to calm down a bit and tried to focus on other things. But, much to her dismay, Snape kept managing to appear in her mind.

"Why am I even thinking about this so much? He's a bloody git who doesn't know the meaning of the word "nice"…" she closed her eyes, letting the cold touch of the snowfall comfort her for a minute.

Within moments she had started walking again, unconsciously it seemed, in the direction of the greenhouses. Perhaps she should talk to someone about all this, and Sprout was the first to come to mind.

With her hands in her robe pockets and her shoulders hunched against the cold, Anna walked slowly past the greenhouses, trying to see if Sprout was inside. When she reached Greenhouse Three, Anna caught a glimpse of Sprout's short form through the plants.

Knocking on the glass door, she pushed it open and stuck her head inside.

"Pomona?" Anna called.

Sprout looked up from wrapping a fluffy scarf around a strange blue plant and smiled.

"Annalyse! Do come in, but mind the Venomous Tentacular."

With a small smile Anna slipped through the door, dodging the spiky vines of a plant that had been sneaking up on her. With a quick look around the greenhouse, she noticed that the majority of the plants had brightly coloured scarves and blankets wrapped around them.

"Sorry if I'm interrupting anything," Anna made her way through the maze of plant life over to Sprout.

"Oh not at all! Just making sure everyone's keeping the frostbite away." The grey haired witch smiled up at her before pulling two short gardening stools over. Indicating Anna to sit, Sprout pulled out her wand and conjured two cups of steaming tea for them, handing one to Anna.

Anna didn't feel much like tea, so she just cradled the flowery cup between her hands and looked into its soft brown depths. Sprout took a sip of her own tea, watching Anna thoughtfully.

"What's wrong, Annalyse. You seem down." The older witch frowned with concern at the younger one.

"Oh, no, I mean, yes," she sighed slightly as she looked up at Sprout. "Well. I just don't know what to do I guess."

"Do? About what?"

Anna shifted the teacup in her hands slightly, trying to think of the best words to describe the afternoon. Well, not so much best as more polite than the ones she had been using earlier.

"Him. He's just so… infuriating!" A frown formed on her face as her temper began to rise to the surface again.

Sprout seemed slightly confused.

"Who?"

"Snape." Anna growled "I was concerned when he got hurt the other week, but what does he do? Snap and snarl! I try to be nice, and he treats me like dirt. I even bothered to get him a Christmas present and he insults my teaching abilities. Again!" She grasped the tea cup hard and glared down at it.

Sprout remained silent for a while.

"You got him a Christmas present?"

"Yeah, thought it might have brought out some sort of a smile, or even a gruff thankyou." She snorted derisively "Shouldn't have bothered."

"What did he do with the present?" the witch asked.

Anna shrugged.

"I don't know… I might have, sort of, thrown it at his face and walked out…"

Sprout chuckled a little at this.

"He probably just threw it away." She muttered. After all, he obviously didn't have one ounce of feeling towards her. Well, other than anger and annoyance of course.

Sprout patted her on the knee.

"I don't know what I was thinking, I mean, I had even started to _like_ the git. Even now, I can't stop thinking about the insufferable man!" Anna stated in frustration.

Sprout smiled mysteriously as Anna looked back down at the teacup in her hands.

"Don't dismiss him yet Annalyse." The Herbology professor smiled again as she placed her own, empty teacup on a nearby bench and stood up. Anna stood up as Sprout removed the cup of cold tea from Anna's hands.

"There's doesn't seem to be any point in continuing to be nice to him. Hasn't done much so far, has it?" Anna mumbled while Sprout put the gardening stools away.

"Now, now, just give it some time until you both cool off. I'm sure he appreciated the Christmas present." Sprout said happily. Anna just gave her a disbelieving look as she mentally resolved to not give the intolerable man another thought. Sprout glanced at her pocket watch "My, it's gotten late quick! Come on, we'll go have dinner. The last day before Christmas holidays always has everyone happy."

Sprout ushered Anna out of the greenhouses, locking the door behind her. Together, the two professors made their way back to the castle. Sprout seemed to be firmly in the belief that Snape was capable of cooling off, Anna however seriously doubted it. She also didn't think a feast in the Great Hall was going to change her mind about the Potions master.

_I mean,_ she thought,_ he probably did throw it away. He certainly doesn't seem to hold me in any high regard; I doubt he'd feel any different about a dumb present._ She frowned again as the two entered the Great Hall, with all its beautiful Christmas decorations and chattering students.

_Dammit._

She was still thinking about him.


	17. Uncomfortable Urges

Disclaimer: Nope. Don't own it. I own Anna though, so hands off!

**Chapter 17: Uncomfortable Urges**

Anna spent the majority of the end of term feast trying to avoid any contact with Snape, a task made difficult by the fact that the scowling professor was sitting next to her. Sprout helped to distract Anna by engaging her in various conversations, ranging from the Christmas holidays to the new plants she had growing in Greenhouse Six.

At one point during the feast, Snape and Anna's hands touched for a very brief moment as they both reached for the salt. This small contact caused Anna to shift herself further from the Potions Master and look away.

Snape, however, lowered his hand slowly and turned his head slightly so as to watch Anna, who now had her back towards him.

Sprout caught Snape's eye over Anna's shoulder and smiled at him. He just scowled and returned his attention to the golden plate in front of him. Something in the Herbology professor's smile made him think that she knew about the incident in the dungeons and about the present.

The end of the feast couldn't have come soon enough for Anna. As soon as they all rose to leave, she said goodnight to Sprout and disappeared out of the Great Hall as quickly as possible.

Upon entering her small bedroom, Anna collapsed onto her bed and promptly buried her face in one of the fluffy pillows. Finally she could relax for a little while. She wouldn't have to see or think about the arrogant Potions Master until morning. She could just lay back and enjoy the end to this horrible day.

Or so she thought.

There was a knock on her office door.

With a groan, Anna climbed off the bed and entered her office, dragging her feet somewhat as she went. It was probably Sprout, so Anna opened the door and peered out to ask if whatever Sprout wanted could wait until morning when she froze.

It wasn't Sprout on the other side of the door, but Snape.

She glared up at him and he returned the look. Snape opened his mouth to speak, but Anna shut the door in his face before he could say a word.

Annoyed, he knocked again.

"Piss off!" came the muffled reply.

"Professor Chambers, in case you have forgotten, we have patrol tonight on the Headmaster's orders." Snape said coldly to the door in front of him.

_This day just won't end, will it?_

Jerking the door open, she pushed past him roughly and began walking down the corridor.

"Fine. Let's get this over with then."

With a frown, Snape followed after her.

With their wands lit, casting a soft glow upon their surroundings, the two professors passed through the corridors in silence. Neither felt keen on starting a conversation, so the time ticked by slowly and the only sounds that echoed through the castle were those of snoring portraits.

Anna kept her gaze fixed ahead, refusing to even acknowledge the irritating man's presence. Hopefully, the night would come to an end soon and she would be able to keep her distance from him.

_But… do I really want to?_

She gave her head a little shake, a stern looking appearing on her face. _Stop it!_ She mentally snapped at herself. _Of course you want to! He's a git and should be locked away in that dungeon of his!_

Her mouth became set in a frown as she squashed that bothersome part of her mind that kept telling her to talk to the man walking beside her. All she had to do was ignore him and life would be better. No more arguments, no more bullying, no more listening to that cold, uncaring voice…

Snape cleared his throat.

Anna, reluctantly, looked up at him. Shadows danced across his pale face and the dim light cast by his wand revealed a rather uncomfortable look upon his features.

"Professor Chambers," Snape had stopped walking near a tall statue of a witch and was now staring down the shadowy corridor. Anna followed his gaze, but couldn't see anything. Had he heard something? Was someone else lurking in the castle?

"What is it?" Anna continued straining her eyes, trying to catch a glimpse of whatever had caught Snape's attention. She looked over her shoulder at the Potions Master and found that dark gaze was now fixed on her.

Snape shifted his eyes from Anna to the ground before him, still looking somewhat uncomfortable. She saw his lips move, but didn't hear what he said. After a silent deliberation with herself, she moved closer to him.

"Sorry, I didn't quite catch that." She watched him as he cast a moderately irritated look at her.

"Professor Chambers, I – " he paused "I wanted to say – "

Anna's eyes widened in shock as Snape suddenly lunged at her, pulling her into his arms and slamming them both up against a nearby wall. The tall statue of the witch crashed to the floor where Anna had been standing just seconds earlier.

Her heart was beating rapidly as she stared at the shattered remains of the statue that littered the corridor floor. She could have been crushed by the heavy, granite statue! It was only then that her mind registered that she was pushed up against a rather cold stone wall, with Snape's arms wrapped around her and his body pressed against hers.

Anna's heart continued to beat rapidly, but no longer from shock. She felt as though time had slowed down as she raised her head slightly to look up at Snape. His attention was fixed on the ruins of the statue, anger reflected in those black eyes and, for once, that anger was not directed at Anna. She felt his arms tighten slightly around her.

She breathed in deeply, a small smile appearing on her lips as she did. Snape had a somewhat spicy scent to him, not at all unpleasant. A scent she didn't expect to find on someone who worked with some thoroughly disgusting potion ingredients all day. It made Anna feel somewhat weak at the knees as she, without thinking, rested her head upon his chest.

Snape noticed the movement and suddenly realised that he was still holding the woman in his arms. He stared down at the top of her head in disbelief for a few moments before he came to his senses. Pushing Anna away, a bit roughly, he turned his back to her and stalked over to the broken statue.

Anna steadied herself from the rough push and looked over at him, still feeling the warmth of his surprising embrace.

_Well, that was unexpected_.

She walked over to him, picking her way carefully through the pieces of granite that now scattered the corridor until she reached his side. They both looked down at the pieces for a few moments, an uncomfortable silence settling over the two like a heavy blanket.

Snape straightened from examining a piece of granite and narrowed his eyes.

"This was not an accident." He turned the statue piece over in his hands before letting it fall to the floor. Anna glanced over at him and then back to the statue.

"You mean, someone wanted it to hit me?" a small tingle of fear ran through her at that thought.

"Either one of us could have been the target." Snape stated "We were both in close proximity to the statue."

Anna just stood there. Who would want to hurt them? Well… a number of people wanted to do unpleasant things to the Potions Master, namely the students, but who would _purposely _try to cause them harm?

"The Headmaster should be informed."

"But, maybe it was just Peeves playing a joke… or something…" Anna looked around, as if expecting to see the aggravating poltergeist appear.

Snape frowned.

"Even the poltergeist wouldn't attempt to seriously injure a professor." He looked over at her, watching her carefully and trying to ignore the thoughts that had crept into his mind when he had held her in his arms just moments before.

"Well… shall we go see Albus then?" Anna was feeling quite nervous now, but whether it was from the falling statue or Snape saving her, she didn't know. She did know, however, that she wouldn't object to him saving her like that again.

Snape nodded and began walking away down the corridor. Anna took one last look at the granite pieces before jogging to catch up with the Potions Master. When she had caught up with him, the two walked side by side through the dark castle, each lost in their own thoughts.

"…Thank you." Snape said quietly after a few silent minutes had ticked by.

Anna looked over at him, confused.

"Sorry? I should be thanking you… you saved me." She smiled softly at him as he glanced over at her.

He appeared uncomfortable again as he avoided her eyes.

"I meant… the present." He looked away from her, becoming rather interested in the sleeping portraits they were walking past.

"Oh! You're, um, welcome then." She said with a smile. Silence descended upon the professors once again as they made their way towards the Headmaster's office. The smile continued to linger on Anna's face as they came to a stop in front of the large stone gargoyle that guarded the entrance to the Headmaster's office.

"_You care for Severus, Annalyse. More than most people…"_

A whisper passed her lips.

"I do…"


	18. Curious Conversations

**Disclaimer:** JK Rowling owns Harry Potter and Paul Oakenfold owns the story title. I however own anything you don't recognise such as Anna and Michael, so there. Oh and mint humbugs to all who review!

**Chapter 18: Curious Conversations**

"Cockroach Cluster."

The gargoyle giggled as it rose from its crouching stance and moved to one side as Snape spoke the password. The two professors climbed the winding staircase that led to the Headmaster's office, coming to a stop before the heavy wooden door that now had a handle shaped like a candy cane.

Snape rapped on the door sharply with his pale knuckles and the two waited patiently for it to open. It wasn't long before the door opened and Dumbledore looked out. He gazed at Snape and Anna for a moment before beckoning them inside his office.

The Headmaster was wearing a violently purple dressing gown and matching nightcap as he took a seat behind his desk. The portraits of previous Headmasters and Headmistresses were all snoring happily in their portraits, though once again, Anna felt that some of them weren't really asleep.

Indicating for the two to take a seat, Anna and Snape sat down in the two wooden chairs before the desk. A sickly coughing noise from the corner drew Anna's attention to Dumbledore's phoenix that looked even worse than the last time she had seen him, it must have been getting close to its Burning Day.

"Severus, Annalyse, I must say, I wasn't expecting to see you two tonight." Dumbledore looked at the two from behind his half-moon spectacles.

"Sorry for waking you, Albus." Anna gave Dumbledore a slight smile.

The Headmaster smiled in return and gave a shake of his head.

"Not at all, Annalyse, not at all. Though I daresay whatever has brought you two to my doorstep at this time of night cannot be good." He looked over at Snape who was sitting in the wooden chair with a frown.

"There was an incident during our patrol tonight, Headmaster." He spoke calmly, though Anna was still feeling a bit rattled from the whole experience.

"What happened?" Dumbledore watched Snape, the smile disappearing and a serious look coming over his features.

"The large statue of the wizened witch in the Arithmancy corridor has been destroyed." Snape stated. A frown tugged at the corners of Dumbledore's mouth as he indicated for Snape to continue.

Anna stayed silent as Snape spoke about the falling statue and how it appeared that someone or something had made an attempt to injure one or both of them. Dumbledore listened grimly and leant back in his chair with a thoughtful look upon his face when Snape had finished.

"This is indeed curious. I agree with you Severus, I highly doubt Peeves was behind this." He seemed to retreat into his own thoughts for a moment. Snape merely sat, silent, in his chair whilst Anna watched the sickly phoenix.

"I will inform the other professors about this in the morning and find out if any similar events happened during their patrols." The Headmaster gave a slight sigh and rose from his seat, pacing his office. "It is a good thing that the majority of students will be leaving in the morning for the Christmas holidays. If there is something hiding in the castle, it is best to have them somewhere safe."

"What about those students staying?" Anna asked.

"We will keep up the patrols over the holidays… Both of you are staying at Hogwarts for Christmas I assume?" Dumbledore paused in his pacing to survey the two from behind his half-moon glasses.

Snape nodded his assent and Anna shifted slightly in her seat.

"I'll be here for the holidays, Albus, but I was hoping to go and visit Eric at least once." Anna bit her bottom lip somewhat nervously. Surely Dumbledore wouldn't prevent her from seeing her brother, what with everything that had been happening.

Snape's dark eyes flicked over to Anna curiously and Dumbledore nodded.

"I understand Annalyse, that's perfectly fine. Just be careful when you do, it is still unclear what the Death Eater's are up to at the moment." The Headmaster gazed at her and she nodded. "We will look into what happened tonight, I do not believe that this was an accident either. As it is, I would like to have a word with Severus for a moment Annalyse."

"Oh, of course Albus." Anna rose from her seat.

"Do wait for Severus though, my dear. It is clearly not safe to wander the castle alone tonight."

Anna smiled at the Headmaster and bade him goodnight. She cast a quick glance at Snape before leaving the office and heading down the winding staircase. Stopping on the bottom steps, she sat down and stared at the back of the stone gargoyle with her arms resting on her knees.

She knew that she should be focusing on who or what was trying to hurt them, but her thoughts continued to drift back to Snape. She liked him. There was no use in trying to deny it anymore, he may be irritating and argue with her all the time… but he had still saved her tonight. Not to mention that soft thankyou for the present.

She smiled, laying her head down upon her knees. If he really hated her, why would he have bothered to save her from the statue? Or continue to hold her like that for longer than necessary? Anna could still feel those arms tighten around her and how that spicy scent had invaded her senses.

Dumbledore had been right. Even Sprout and McGonagall had been right when they had dragged her to the Hospital Wing when he was hurt. Still… what happened now? Accepting her feelings for Snape was one thing, but what about him? Did he feel the same for her? Not that he seemed likely to admit anything like that if he did.

A sigh escaped her lips.

She would just have to try and find out. Even though things, obviously, were still going to be confusing for a while.

There was a light touch upon her shoulder and Anna looked up in surprise. Snape was standing a step above her; she hadn't even heard him coming down the staircase.

She stood up and brushed some of her hair out of her eye.

"We should return to our rooms now." Snape walked past her and down the remaining steps, the gargoyle moving aside so the two could leave.

As Snape walked with Anna back to her rooms, she remembered the first time he had escorted her there. It almost seemed like years ago rather than a few months, but unlike that first night, Anna wasn't nervous in his company.

"Who do you think did that tonight?" Anna asked suddenly as they walked. Snape barely looked at her as he replied quietly.

"I do not know."

"At least the students won't be here for a few weeks. I hope we find out what's going on." Anna stared out the windows at the soft moonlight that illuminated their path. Silence descended on the castle and the two professors.

"Who is Eric?" Snape broke the silence.

Anna looked over at him in slight surprise.

"He's my brother. I always visit him at Christmas." She spoke softly, trying, and failing, to keep the sadness from her voice. She was oblivious to the odd look Snape was giving her.

He didn't ask anymore questions.

Stopping before her office door, Anna pulled out her wand. Softly speaking a few words she unlocked the door and turned to say goodnight to Snape. She had expected him to already be walking away, but instead he was still standing there.

He looked down at her and she looked up at him, his dark eyes meeting her blue ones. They stood like that for a brief instant before Anna took a step towards him. He chose that moment to break eye contact and step away. Muttering a goodnight, he swept off down the corridor, his black robes billowing behind him as his quick steps carried him away.

She watched his retreating figure until his dark form blended into the night's shadows and he disappeared from her sight.

"Goodnight… Severus."


	19. Elusive Emotions

**Disclaimer:** I own absolutely nothing. I make no money from this. Everything (except Anna, Michael and Eric) belong to JK Rowling. The story title belongs to Paul Oakenfold. I'm just a poor student entertaining herself.

**Chapter 19: Elusive Emotions**

The crisp morning light filtered softly through the thin snowfall outside to trickle gently into the stone Entrance Hall where the excited students had gathered, awaiting the Thestral drawn carriages that would take them to platform nine and three quarters and home to their families for Christmas.

Anna smiled as she stood by, watching and listening to the students as they said goodbye to each other, wished Merry Christmas to those who were remaining at Hogwarts or sprinted back to their common rooms to retrieve forgotten items.

Filch barked at the students to be quiet and began ticking names off a roll of parchment so long that it touched the floor. Mrs Norris sat by his feet, her fluffy tail twitching and a sour look on her face.

"It's always a busy start to the holidays!" Professor Flitwick squeaked as he and McGonagall strode past Anna to help Filch organise the students. A number of teachers, including Flitwick and McGonagall, were to be accompanying the students to the platform. There had been another Death Eater attack in the early hours of the morning, three wizards and four muggles had been killed this time. As such, Dumbledore had asked for increased protection for the students.

Anna leant against one of the stone walls, watching the students begin to file out of the huge castle doors to the waiting carriages. They weren't the only ones who would be leaving with an escort this morning. Today was the only chance Anna had to visit Eric before Christmas, something Dumbledore knew, causing him to suggest increased protection for her as well.

Anna wasn't too happy about this. Visiting Eric was not something she particularly wanted anyone to accompany her to. She also didn't know who she was going to ask to come to St Mungo's. Obviously, Sprout had been her first choice, but the Herbology professor was part of the students chaperone today.

A sigh escaped Anna's lips and she pushed herself off the cold wall. Minerva was also part of the chaperone, so she couldn't ask her either. Really, she had little choice.

Michael or Snape.

She didn't know any of the other professors well enough to be comfortable with them meeting her brother. Then again, she probably wouldn't be comfortable with either one of those two men there as well.

With a determined look upon her face, Anna headed towards her rooms. It was time to look the Hippogriff in the eye. Whoever she ran into first, she'd ask. That would make the decision easier.

"Oh come on!" Anna growled to herself as she paced the length of the corridor outside her rooms. Neither Snape nor Michael had crossed her path so far. With a quick glance out one of the high windows, she knew she couldn't put this off any longer. Her shoulders slumped, the day was getting on and she wanted to see Eric.

"Fine! I'll just ask then!" she snapped.

"Talking to yourself is the first sign of madness," the smooth voice paused as Anna stiffened. "Though in your case, it seems a bit late."

She turned and glowered up at Snape, who stood with a smirk upon his lips and his arms folded across his black clad chest.

_Well, since he's here…_

Anna swallowed her retort as she looked up at him.

"Good morning to you too, Professor Snape,"

He merely inclined his head before continuing on his way.

"Professor Snape!" Anna called after him.

The Potions Master paused, looking back at her over his shoulder.

"Er, I need to visit my brother today and, uh, Dumbledore wants someone to accompany me." Anna smiled slightly at him.

"You wish for me to accompany you?" he raised an eyebrow.

"Pretty much." She shrugged as he walked towards her.

"Do explain to me why I would voluntarily give up my time to attend your cheerful little family reunion?" he asked coldly.

The slight smile disappeared from Anna's face as she glared up at him, meeting his dark gaze.

"You don't have to "attend" anything. Just come with me and amuse yourself with the rest of the hospital while I visit my brother." She snapped "Also, Dumbledore said so."

"Hospital?" surprise flickered in Snape's eyes.

"Yes, St Mungo's. Where else did you think my brother was?" Anna continued to glare at him.

Snape didn't reply. He appeared thoughtful as he looked down at the angry woman in front of him.

"I will meet you in the Entrance Hall in five minutes." With that, he swept off down the corridor.

Anna opened and closed her mouth in surprise. What? Had he just agreed to come with her? Huh? She shook her head. He really was a confusing man…

"Five minutes!" Anna raced back to her rooms.

Ten minutes later, Anna was jogging down the steps into the Entrance Hall, clutching a backpack that had clearly seen better days in one hand. Snape was waiting for her, a frown on his face as she ran up to him.

"Sorry! Couldn't find my sweater," she smiled sheepishly at him, her earlier anger long gone.

Snape's dark eyes flickered over her form. Since they would have to pass through muggle dwellings to reach St Mungo's, they had to be dressed accordingly. Anna had pulled on a faded pair of jeans, white shirt and her old favourite blue sweater.

After taking a good look at Snape, she felt suddenly underdressed.

He was wearing smart black pants with a matching black shirt and jacket. Really, he didn't look that different than he did in his robes. He did look a sight better than her though.

"A carriage is waiting." With that, he swept out into the castle grounds.

The two professors made the journey out of Hogwarts in silence, the carriage jostling them through the gates. The plan was that the carriage would take them from the grounds and out of range of the ancient spells so that they could apparate carefully to St Mungo's entrance in London.

After several minutes, the carriage came to a rough halt. Anna pushed the door open and climbed out onto the snow-covered ground, Snape following. Anna gave the Thestral a pat on the neck before the skeletal horse turned the carriage around and trotted back towards Hogwarts.

"If you're ready." Snape certainly stood out against the white snow as he looked around the countryside. They could see the castle back in the distance; the carriage had taken them further than necessary.

"There's an alley not far from the main entrance in which we should be able to apparate unnoticed." Anna slung the backpack over one shoulder and Snape inclined his head.

With two sharp _cracks_, the professors disappeared.

Snape appeared in the alley shadows first, Anna close behind. She stumbled against the red brick wall; it had been a while since she had apparated. Snape waited for her to compose herself before the two walked out into the flow of muggle traffic.

Snape glowered as they passed through the crowds of muggles, he was obviously not comfortable. Anna couldn't keep the smirk from her face as she watched him try to avoid coming into physical contact with all the people. It wasn't long before the two professors stopped before a run-down department store proclaiming in faded letters to be "Purge and Dowse, Ltd."

It was dark inside the old building, one of the front windows had been smashed and an ancient sign hung on the front door proclaiming that the store was "closed the refurbishment". A number of derelict mannequins posed in the unbroken window display, wearing moth-eaten clothes that were at least a decade out of fashion.

It was to one of these broken mannequins that Anna leant towards, trying to be inconspicuous while Snape glared at any muggles who looking in their direction.

"Hello, I'm Annalyse Chambers. I'm here to visit my brother, Eric Chambers."

"Of course. Please step through into St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries reception area. A healer will assist you from there." The broken mannequin had moved its head to look at Anna with plastic eyes before resuming its model pose.

"Thankyou." Anna replied, motioning to Snape. After a quick glance at the uninterested muggles, the two stepped directly through the broken window and into the brightly lit reception of the hospital.

The waiting room adjacent to the reception desk was full of witches and wizards. Healers in green robes embroidered with the symbol of a crossed wand and bone bustled through the hospital. Some collected people from the waiting area while others stopped to exchange parchments at the reception desk. The entire area was decorated with Christmas ornaments, including a large tree behind the reception desk.

"Good morning!" Anna smiled brightly at the green-robed witch behind the desk. She looked up from the stack of parchments on the desk before her and tapped her quill into the inkwell.

"Visitors for Eric Chambers?" she asked in a clipped tone, not at all happy that her work had been interrupted.

"Oh, yes – " the receptionist cut Anna off.

"Just take the lifts to level four." She lowered her eyes and went back to the pile of parchments.

"Good thing I already know which ward to go to," Anna muttered in annoyance as she and Snape headed into a spare lift. Snape didn't say a word as they rode in the lift, the doors opening onto level four.

A glittering sign just outside the lift doors proclaimed this particular area of level four to be the Mnemone Radford ward. Anna stopped just outside the entryway to the ward and turned to Snape.

"You don't have to come in, you can just wait here or go up to the tea room on level five if you want." She was starting to feel uncomfortable with him standing there. She didn't know if Eric would be in a good mood this time or not.

"If you wish." Snape spoke quietly and settled into one of the wooden chairs lining the hallway.

Anna gave him a grateful smile, took a deep breath and walked into the ward.

Everything was white. The walls, the beds, the curtains and even the robes that the long-term patients wore were white. Most of the beds were hidden behind those white curtains and Anna paid them no attention as she walked down the rows to the far end.

She wasn't the only one visiting relatives, a number of hushed voices came from behind the curtains and she smiled slightly and a few other witches and wizards who were attempting conversation with their incapacitated relatives.

A healer who recognised her smiled at Anna and indicated the large, curtained-off area at the back of the ward. It was the closest to a private room that you could get in St Mungo's. She returned the smile. It had been too long since she had last seen Eric.

Pulling the curtains aside, Anna slipped inside.

There was a simple bed in one corner with a small chest of drawers next to it. A single photo frame and an empty potion bottle sat upon the top of the drawers, the photo showing a young girl and boy laughing as they hugged each other. The only other piece of furniture was a small armchair by one of the few windows in the ward. It was currently occupied.

"Eric?"

The wizard sitting in the armchair looked up at Anna. He had the same mouse brown hair and plain blue eyes as her, though his hair was streaked with grey and his eyes dull, almost lifeless. His fair skin had a greyish tinge to it as well and he plucked absently at the front of the white robe he wore.

He watched her with those lifeless eyes as she walked slowly towards him, crouching down in front of the armchair and placing the backpack carefully on the ground.

"It's me, Eric. Annalyse."

He stared at her without recognition.

Anna reached out and touched one of his hands, wrapping her own around his. Those dull blue eyes looked down at their entwined hands, his brow creased in confusion.

"I'm your sister, Annalyse. Remember, Eric?" she spoke softly. Hopefully he was in a good mood today.

Eric's lips moved silently for a moment.

"Annalyse?" he asked, still staring at their hands.

"That's right Eric." She smiled sadly and squeezed his hand gently.

"Anna…lyse. Annalyse." He said more confidently, those faded blue eyes meeting hers.

Anna swallowed the lump in her throat.

"It's Christmas time, Eric. I've bought you a present." She let go of his hand slowly and reached for the backpack. Eric watched curiously from his armchair as she opened the bag and withdrew a colourfully wrapped package. Anna placed the package on his lap, watching as he picked it up to look at it more closely.

Anna winced as she shifted her stiff legs to kneel on the floor before her brother.

"Go ahead and open it." She gave him an encouraging smile. Eric continued to examine the brightly wrapped package for a few more minutes before he began to slowly and carefully tear at the paper.

It was always hard to choose a gift for Eric, Anna had spent weeks this year thinking before she had come up with his gift. Hopefully he would like it, even if he didn't recognise it.

Throwing the paper carelessly aside, Eric lifted up the leather bound photo album and looked at it inquisitively. Opening it, he began to watch the moving photos on each page. Some of the photos showed their parents, some showed friends and the rest showed Eric and Anna together.

Eric turned the pages slowly, stopping in the middle to gaze down at a large picture of a snowball fight he and Anna had initiated with some classmates during one year at Hogwarts. The photo showed a much younger Anna laughing as she helped her brother up, his face and hair covered in snow.

The album rested in his lap as he touched the moving photo with one hand.

"Who?" he asked quietly.

"That's us, Eric. At Hogwarts. Remember Hogwarts? I'm a teacher there now Eric," she smiled at him from her spot on the floor, "Minerva McGonagall's still there, and Rubeus Hagrid. You always liked Transfiguration, you were Minerva's favourite." Anna smiled fondly at him.

Eric continued to look down at the photos, so Anna continued talking.

"There are a lot of new teachers too though, Severus Snape is the Potions Master now, and Michael Marlan teaches Defense Against – " She shrank back quickly as Eric practically screamed, rising to his feet and throwing the photo album through the white curtains.

"Eric!" Anna had leapt to her feet and tried to calm him.

"No!" Eric shouted, pushing her away to grab the photo frame from the set of drawers and smash it against one of the white walls.

Green-robed Healers rushed through the white curtains, wands out. Spells shot towards Eric and he slumped to the floor. Anna had one hand covering her mouth, her eyes wide as the Healers moved Eric's limp form onto the bed.

"What happened?" spoke the witch as her partner examined Eric.

"I… I don't know, we were talking, just talking," Anna watched in fear as the effects of the spell began to wear off. Eric yelled again, thrashing on the bed as the Healers conjured ropes to restrain him.

"I think it's time you left; we'll take care of him." The witch gave Anna a sad smile as she helped her partner to try and calm Eric. Anna picked up her backpack quickly and met Eric's eyes. Those dull eyes were now full of a dark fire she had never seen before.

"No! Don't!" He gazed at her intently, straining against the ropes that held him to the bed.

"It's… it's ok Eric. They'll look after you. I'll see you soon, I promise." She gave him a watery smile, tears welling up in her eyes.

"No! Not him!" Eric screamed as Anna fled the curtained-off room. She didn't see the fear in her brother's eyes as the Healers sedated him.

More Healers had arrived in the ward, calming the other patients and visitors as Anna ran past them. Why had Eric reacted like that? What had set him off? She couldn't answer these questions, not now anyway. Not when seeing him strapped to that bed and the strange fire in his eyes had made her heart ache.

Snape jumped to his feet as Anna ran out of the ward. She hit the lift doors and leant against them, an immense sadness welling up inside her, threatening to break her heart.

"Professor Chambers," Snape had heard the shouting from inside the ward, but had not interfered. After all, there was shouting coming from numerous wards in the hospital. "I assume we can return to the school now?" he spoke impatiently as Anna stood up straight, the lift doors opening.

"Professor Chambers?" Snape followed her into the lift, the doors closing behind him and starting its descent down to the reception. He reached out cautiously and turned her to face him. He was unprepared for the tears and sorrow he saw on her face.

"Eric….." Was all she said as the grief and confusion spilled over inside her. Anna threw her arms around a very shocked Snape and cried silently into his neat, black shirt.

Snape stood frozen and somewhat uncomfortable as the distressed woman held onto him and cried. What could he do? Snape closed his eyes.

Anna felt warm arms hesitantly envelop her.


	20. Deadly Desires Part 1

**Disclaimer: **Everything you recognise belongs to JK Rowling. Everything you don't recognise (Anna, Michael, Eric etc) belongs to little ol' me. The story title belongs to a song by Paul Oakenfold.

**Chapter 20: Deadly Desires Part 1**

A smile curved on Michael's lips as he gazed down at that morning's copy of the Daily Prophet he held in his hands. Once again a glittering, black and white photograph of the Dark Mark was splashed across the front page beneath the bold heading: _"Is no one safe? Death Eaters strike again!"_

Leaning back in the creaky wooden chair, he glanced around at the other patrons of the dingy Hog's Head pub. Compared to the poorly disguised hag by the bar and the small group of scruffy, dark-eyed wizards conversing quietly in one corner, Michael looked quite out of place with his fine, crimson robes and neat hair.

_No matter_, he thought while sneering at one of the scruffy wizards who caught his eye. As much as he disliked the filthy little pub with its many cockroaches scurrying across the floor and its strong smell of goats, it was useful. Besides, once his companion arrived he wouldn't have to stay much longer. He was quite looking forward to getting back to the castle and the hot bath that awaited him. He didn't particularly fancy smelling like goats for the rest of the day.

Returning his attention to the Prophet, Michael smoothed the front page with one hand and absently kicked a fat, balding rat running beneath his table before settling down to read the article while he waited.

"_Agents of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named struck again last night in what has been the largest Death Eater attack to date. Appearing in the early hours of the morning in a small town just east of London, they proceeded to destroy as many and as much as possible._

_Ministry of Magic Aurors were alerted and arrived on the scene quickly, but not before three wizarding families and two Muggle families had been killed by the Death Eaters. A further four Muggles were seriously injured and required memory modification. They were treated at the scene by Healers while two witches were taken to St Mungo's, having suffered under the illegal Cruciatus Curse._

_Evidence from the scene also indicates that a werewolf may have been present with the Death Eaters._

_When questioned about the attack and the suspected werewolf involvement, the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge replied with: "The Ministry is handling the matter. Now keep your noses out of it!"_

_While Aurors work to track down the group of Death Eaters who fled from the scene at the Ministry's arrival, Ministry officials are currently investigating known werewolves living in the area._

_With this attack occurring just a day before Christmas, the wizarding community is being urged to take extra precautions to ensure their safety. Ministry pamphlets regarding protective spells and enchantments can be obtained from…"_

"Enjoying some light reading, Marlan?" drawled a cold voice.

"Afternoon Lucius, late again I see." Michael folded the paper and placed it on the table before him as the well dressed and sneering Lucius Malfoy tapped his silver snake-headed cane upon the filthy floor.

"I'm afraid some of us have more important things to do than spend our time playing with children." He smirked.

Michael ignored the jab and forced a smile.

"Drink?" he indicated the dirty mug on the table top, filled to the brim with an unidentifiable liquid that appeared to be congealing rapidly. A look of disgust spread across Malfoy's pale face as Michael rose from his seat.

"Pleasantries aside, we have business to attend to." Michael indicated for Malfoy to lead the way up the decrepit flight of stairs next to the bar and to one of the pub's private rooms. The old barkeep watched them pass from the corner of his eye as he absently wiped a dirty mug with an even dirtier cloth. He was unaware of the fat rat cautiously climbing the stairs behind the two men.

"These random attacks are drawing a lot of attention, and not just from the Ministry." Michael had lowered his voice as he shut the door, the rat just making it inside before the door closed completely.

Malfoy twisted his cane in one gloved hand for a moment before replying quietly.

"The Ministry is none of your concern." He sat down gracefully in a moth-eaten armchair. "There are more than enough of us inside the Ministry already to handle any problems that may arise." He paused, his grey eyes boring into Michael's hazel ones as the professor sat down opposite the pale pointed man. "The question is, can you handle this task? The Dark Lord is not happy; you were expected to have made more progress by now." He idly drummed his gloved fingers on the arm of the chair.

Michael winced slightly and sat up straighter.

"There have been… complications."

"What could possibly be complicating matters? What we require is hardly well protected from someone on the inside." Malfoy frowned as Michael shifted in his seat.

"Not what, but who. I believe that is the problem." Michael hesitated as the balding rat slunk around the armchairs, keeping out of sight of both men.

"You need to stop wasting time and stop chasing women. Priorities have changed; it is clear that she knows nothing." Malfoy leant towards Michael. "The Dark Lord is losing interest. You know what is important now."

"She was not who I had in mind." Michael said before he lapsed into silence for a moment, reflecting. "This task… it is not common knowledge, I assume?" he asked, meeting the steady gaze of Malfoy.

"Very few have been privileged enough to know the details." He spoke slowly. "What are you getting at, Marlan?"

"I have formed some theories regarding one of my colleagues. Perhaps you could clear a few things up for me."

Malfoy tapped his lips with one finger and smiled coldly.

"You see where I'm going with this then?" Michael watched Malfoy carefully as the pale man leant back in his chair, the cold smile lingering on his face.

"What I am having difficulty understanding though is if he is a Death Eater, then why not have him complete this task? Why enlist me?" Michael continued, running a hand through his hair as he spoke.

"He is indeed a Death Eater, one of the Dark Lord's favourites to be exact." There was a hint of bitterness in Malfoy's voice. "However, his allegiance has appeared somewhat questionable of late and he is quickly falling out of favour with the Dark Lord."

"The Dark Lord suspects him as a spy?"

Malfoy inclined his head in acknowledgement.

"He knows nothing regarding your task and it would be wise of you not to approach him. Do not forget that he is a dangerous man, whether he is a double agent or not."

"Hmph." Michael folded his arms across his chest. "Then what do you propose?"

"I propose that you make some substantial progress soon. If you succeed, not even Dumbledore or Potter will be able to stop the Dark Lord. But if you don't," he shrugged "As you can see, I stand to gain or lose a lot depending on you and the outcome of all this. The Marlan and Malfoy families may have a connection that goes back decades, but I assure you that it will come to an abrupt end if you fail."

Michael smiled, but it did not reach his eyes.

"I can understand the risk you are taking Lucius, I believe that it is in both of our interests that I succeed."

"Then I suggest that if you want this honour badly enough, you will not delay any longer. We are running out of time and the Dark Lord is running out of patience." He rose elegantly from the armchair and came to stand before Michael. Leaning down he rested a hand on each of the chair's arms so that he was face to face with the professor.

"If you cannot handle this task, it will be reassigned to someone else and you will be disposed of. After all, you do not have the security of the Dark Mark yet. We only have one chance at this, so if you value your pathetic life, get what we need." He hissed.

Michael sat stiffly in the chair, his face devoid of emotion as Malfoy straightened and gathered his cane. The pale man nodded curtly at Michael and swept out the door.

Michael let go of the breath he hadn't realised he had been holding and leant forward in the chair, arms resting on his thighs and his hands clasped before him. He had to get a move on, no more watching and waiting because if he failed, the Dark Lord wouldn't be the only one after him.

Standing up, he ran a hand through his hair again and began to pace the small room. The wooden floorboards creaked under his feet as he walked, thinking. Priorities had changed. There was still so much to be done and still so much standing in his way.

Stopping in the centre of the room, he stood up straight. With a determined look upon his handsome face, Michael wrenched the door open and headed down the stairs quickly, ignoring the strange looks from the barkeep and the scruffy wizards as he exited the Hog's Head pub. He had to return to the castle, it was time to put some new plans into action.

Creeping out from the shadows cast by the two armchairs, the fat rat paused at the doorway with his whiskers twitching. Nibbling nervously on a very pale paw, the rat looked quickly around the hallway before darting down the stairs and out of sight.


End file.
